Steven Universe: Earth
by FeanorArran
Summary: Part 2: Returning to the farm after a tough, but successful rescue mission, Steven and his new friend, Golden Topaz both begin to adjust to life on Earth and rediscover some important things that had been forgotten.
1. Earth, Chapter 01: Liberty

Liberty

The failing light made the sky look red as the wind drew spirals of dust into the air. A steady breeze breathed heavily through the narrow spaces, humming as though in deep thought. Feathery clouds streaked the sky high above, stretching from horizon to horizon. Leaves of maize and nightshades danced and grasses bent while the air filled with the scents of the forests and meadows and orchards.

As the sky darkened, it was going to be harder and harder to spot the ship. Lapiz had listened to Connie's conversation on her cell, and knew Steven and the others would be returning shortly, but only when they touched down and stepped off of the landing ramp would she relax. She knew Connie felt the same way, even if she was too young, as a human... hatchling- to understand how to express it, and paced nervously.

Connie's parents stood behind her, just outside the main door to the old barn hangar. Behind them stood Greg's cousin, Andy, whose feet shuffled noisily in the gravel. His arrival was a bit of a surprise, but in Lapiz's experience, that was simply his nature, to come and go as he pleased. She felt a small pang of jealousy. She smiled it away, and composed herself. There was nothing forcing her to stay on the farm, or on Earth for that matter. But she longed to return to the homeworld, which she had not seen in an age.

An object caught her eye. It must have caught lion's eye as well as he shoved himself under her arm, almost knocking loose the sleeping pumpkin. It grew from a speck against the orange clouds over the ocean, and she knew it was the ship, returning finally, after a few short, eternal hours away on Mars. The profile and path of the ship was clean, without the usual wobbles, and came overhead.

Connie instantly brightened, and prepared to charge the ramps when they lowered and greet her friends. The landing legs unfolded, and the ship touched down point by point in its old landing footprint where even the weeds wouldn't grow. Lion pulled away from Lapiz as the ramp folded itself out to ground level. Lion had almost begun to scale up to the ship when he crouched and growled. A small, red Gem was backing out of the hatch carrying one end of a crate, which had another Ruby on the other end.

It took all of Lapiz's own self-discipline not to react to them. Doctor Maheswaran grabbed Connie by the shoulders on seeing Lion. However, when the Rubies continued to struggle with the crate and made clear their interest was only in moving the box, the big cat changed his crouch into a stretch and his growl into a yawn, as though it was what he'd intended to do from the start.

More Rubies emerged carrying various items, and then Pearl and Peridot, and finally Garnet and Steven. Once Steven was visible, Lion shoved his way up the ramp and began sniffing and checking Steven. "I'm okay, Lion. I missed you, too!" he exclaimed. Her Mother had just let her go when Connie began to rush forward to greet Steven. She stopped when Andy and her Dad gasped.

A light source within the ship began to move, changing the shadows Garnet and Steven were making. The light was like water where it shone. Connie redoubled her pace when she realized who it was. Topaz joined Steven at the top of the ramp. "This planet is much more dense than P17-4, and the atmosphere is so heavy with water-" she spotted the girl running up the ramp "Oh! The Connie!" Topaz's curious look was overtaken by a bright smile while Connie hugged Steven, then went to Topaz, who curtsied in greeting.

The yellow and purple gem looked around as Connie replaced the curtsey with a hug, which Topaz returned. "Oh- more Connie-s! And another Greg-" Lion shoved past Connie and sat down squarely in front of Topaz. He looked her in the eye as she remained motionless. "S- Steven-" she began quietly. Lion finished his inspection, snuffed once, clearly unimpressed, jumped off of the ramp and began cleaning his ears. "I, uh, guess that means he likes you," Steven offered.

Topaz nodded, still uncertain if the big cat was going to take issue with her despite Steven, when she looked down at the grass. "Oh- where do we step? There's organic life on every surface, we don't want to harm anything," she said, trailing off as she looked up at the side of the barn, and then out to the fields of crops and forests and finally at the sky. She stopped where she was. Her arms wrapped her elbows, and she backed up quickly and disappeared through the hatch of the ship. "So big, all these life forms," she gasped breathlessly.

Steven looked at Connie, and they both went inside after her, followed shortly by Connie's Mother. Inside, they found Topaz

huddled next to a console, peering back out through the hatch. "We don't understand. The universe feels so much larger now. We want to go and explore and learn, but" she shuddered "so much has changed." Steven stood next to her and looked up. "We won't make you go, but you're not gonna learn anything hiding, either." She closed her eyes and nodded.

"Is there an official we have to greet, or a ceremony or declaration we must complete before we may step foot on your Earth?" Dr. Maheswaran laughed. "No, it's a free country. Go say 'hello'." Connie realized introductions were in order. "Golden Topaz, this is my Mother, Dr. Maheswaran. Mom, this is Golden Topaz," she said. Connie's Mother held out her hand.

Topaz laid her left hand on it, and curtsied deeply. "It is a pleasure to meet you." Dr. Maheswaran blinked at her, and took in the withered hand she had been given, only just remembering to return what she knew of a curtsey. "Uh- welcome to Earth. You can call me Priyanka." she said. Connie looked at her Mother, and knew that look. It was one of assessment and diagnosis, but whatever she was thinking was put away for the moment. "Please don't be afraid."

Topaz straightened herself, corrected her robes, and drew her braids out and wound them again in one easy gesture. Other gems pushed past them into the ship and began to collect more crates. As they did, Topaz stopped Navy, who paused, knowing the next question. "I feel fine, really," she preempted. Topaz leaned in and examined her gem, turned her, and lifted her arm. Navy's sour face looked like a young child whose parent was wiping their face with wet cloth.

"Eh, lemme give you a hand wit dat," said Andy as he reached up to get another of the crates packed into the overhead. Topaz saw Navy's expression and giggled. "You'll be fine," she said, and dismissed the Ruby. Connie turned to Steven. He knew he was in for it when he saw her brows turned up at the edges, and how her pupils narrowed. "She'll 'be fine'- Steven, what happened?"

"Well, heh, you see- er," he stammered. "There was a misunderstanding," said Topaz. "A 'misunderstanding'?" Connie repeated. "What _kind_ of misunderstanding?" she demanded of Steven. Suddenly, Andy found himself toppling over under the weight of the small crate he'd selected. "Oh- I don't got it!" he said, losing his balance and his grip on the box. Steven bubbled his Uncle instantly, shielding him from the crate, and Pearl caught it.

"What kind of misunderstanding?" Connie pressed. "It was nothing. Case of mistaken identities," said Garnet, with a crate in each hand. "It's hardly worth mentioning. We're at peace, and Navy is healed," offered Topaz brightly, floating the last large box down from the overhead. "Wait- _healed_? Steven! Was there a fight!?" Connie was now bright red.

Topaz hung her head. "In our pride and rage, we mistook the Rubies for the fusion that- who- We were mistaken." Steven braced. " _You let her fight a FUSION!?_ " Amethyst sidled by everyone crowding the door. "There was no 'let' about it. It was awesome. I think," she said as she passed. Lapiz stood in the doorway, surveying Topaz.

" _She_ fought a Ruby fusion. Alone." Her narrowed gaze and crossed arms said more than her words, as doubt nearly clouded the space between them. Peridot piped in brightly. "Oh, yeah. I got the video! We can watch it later." Topaz noticed Lapiz. She curtsied fully to the floor. "We are honored to be in your presence, your Purity. Surely organic life on this planet owes you and your team a debt of gratitude-"

Lapiz didn't shift, though Steven thought she might have blushed a little. "Yeah, yeah. You don't look like the Topazes I remember from Homeworld." Topaz remained in her bow, on the floor. Steven looked at her. She would fit flawlessly into any ancient court and not look even slightly amiss. Pearl rolled her eyes as she went by with Andy's crate. "Topaz, it's not that formal here. This is what you might call a common space." Pearl took her box down the ramp as Topaz returned to her feet. "We're sorry. We have to learn how things work here."

Andy paused as he followed Pearl, clearly vexed by her ease with the heavy crate. "You keep sayin' 'we' and 'we're'- are you some kinda royalty or somethin'?" he asked indelicately. More people shuffled by onto the ramp carrying treasures collected from the Shrine, but Connie and Priyanka stayed to listen. Topaz giggled. "Oh, no. We're not a monarch, and only the radiant presence, Champagne Diamond, may appoint offices of responsibility." Steven jumped up and down.

"Oh! Oh! Like 'Counselor and Healer General'?" he elated. "So, how come then?" Andy pressed. She touched her gem. "Fluorite. She's a part of us now, and we speak as one. She will never be forgotten," she said. Lapiz had seen Steven's drawing, but even that hadn't prepared her for the reality of what had been done. She stifled a gasp and covered her mouth. Dr. Maheswaren noted her reaction, and looked from Lapiz to Topaz's gem.

"Howbout we get outta here, and have a seat an' relax," suggested Andy. He led the way down the ramp, and the rest followed. He led them to the old fire pit, and set up the lawn chairs. Peridot and Topaz both watched in fascination as he undid the tri-fold. "It's brilliant!" observed Peridot. He offered it to Topaz after setting it up. "Thank you, Andy. We need to sit- the fields this planet possesses are powerful and intoxicating. She has a strong core, large and molten-" Topaz flinched. Steven could almost hear the voice of that wicked quartz in his ears, even if he couldn't make out what she had said.

Those not moving crates had a seat around the pit as the last light of the sun receded, permitting the humble chorus of stars to take the stage behind the thinning spread of clouds. Greg clicked the old grill lighter several times without success, and looked at the dried grass and kindling in dismay. "Here- lemme at it," suggested Andy. He sat down with an old battery, some wires, and a piece of steel wool. He connected the leads to the battery, put on some gloves, and touched the leads to either end of the wool. Instantly a flame sprang up. Greg took over, blowing gently on the ember, while Andy went back to the barn to put the items back.

"That was awesome! Where did you learn that?" asked Steven as he followed closely. "Oh? Uh, lemme think. I was out in the bush- Huh. Was that down in Tramwell Station? Yeah, Down Under." He stopped at the main entrance. "So, what's all dis stuff?" he asked, looking at three yards of crates and strange machines. "Oh- these are things Topaz said we could bring home with us!" elated Peridot. Pearl turned to him after balancing the last crate. "Andy- we need some help," she started. Andy promptly set the items he was carrying down. "Whadya need?" he asked with a smile.

"We need to rearrange the barn, but we didn't want to displace anything without getting your input. All these things are yours," she said, gesturing to stacks of aluminum body panels, canvas stretched over spars, and bald tires. "Hey, Steven, gimme a hand here," said Andy heading to the front right corner of the Barn. There stood a stack of bald tires on aluminum rims. "Help me move this stuff." He and Steven set to pulling the tires off of the stack and rolling them just outside the big doors.

Mr. Maheswaran poked his head inside and found them un-stacking the next load. "Hey, Steven, Connie's looking for you." He paused. "Do you two want a hand moving those?" Andy nodded. "Every bit helps. Out front with the other ones." They soon started a chain, passing tires one by one until a hatch in the floor was revealed. Lapiz and Peridot stared. "I had no idea that was there- the floor doesn't even sound hollow!" Peridot emphasized her point by stomping on the floor.

Andy nodded, and dug a small LED torch out of his pocket. "Hey, stand back. I dunno what's tryin' ta live down here- might be bats or somethin'" he warned as he got a grip on the inset handle. He counted down after the others stepped back a bit, and lifted vigorously. Dust billowed into the air, but no animals bolted past them. Andy lay on the floor and traced his light around below until he was satisfied.

He reached down and flipped a light on, then descended into the basement, clearing the way once he got to the bottom of the ladder-well. "Hang on- okay, that got it. Come on down." Steven leapt up and dashed back to the campfire and almost crashed into Connie. "Connie! Connie! Connie!" She was about to speak, but found herself being taken by the hand and rushed back to the barn.

They arrived back at the entrance of the barn. Pearl and Peridot were at the top of the opening, looking down into it. Steven could hear his Uncle rummaging in the basement. "Eh. Well, let's make a space over 'dere. I gotta throw some o' dis old junk out anyhow." Connie's dad replied. "Are you sure you're okay burying the wings like this?" he asked. "Yeah. Peridot and Lapiz, and Topaz too, I guess, are gonna need the space, an' this ol' plane hasn't flown in two years." More objects shuffled out of view, cardboard by the sound.

"Okay. The floor is safe if you wanna have a look," Andy invited. Connie gasped. "There's a basement?" Peridot went first, followed by Pearl. Once at the bottom, she motioned for Steven to come down. Steven descended into a dimly lit space where his eyes had to adjust. They were just coming into adjustment as Connie reached the bottom of the ladder.

The floor was concrete, encrusted with sawdust and hardened mud. The air was heady with the scents of earth and sawn wood and petroleum. He was right about the cardboard, as boxes upon boxes were arranged on a fancy silver surface that was covered in rivets and then brushed to a sheen. The basement spanned nearly the entire width of the barn, and with the ceiling as low as it was, seemed to extend off into the distance.

Immediately in front of Steven was a concrete ramp which seemed to lead up the ground level at the front of the barn. Along the sides and the back were shelves covered in various objects. There were also different gas operated machines; mowers, snow-blowers, edgers, and several machines he didn't know the names of. There were a few early-era farm implements as well. Ploughs, sickles, and some trappings from when the farm employed horses to pull.

In the center of all of this were the boxes he'd heard earlier on their riveted tables. Between the tables was what was obviously a fuselage with a giant canopy. Canards adorned the nose. On the canopy was an enormous crack, and it didn't sit correctly in the collar where it met the brushed aluminum. Between the boxes in the back on either side were two vertical struts. On top of each was a streamlined cylinder Steven assumed were the engines, as at the back of each was a small, five-bladed propeller.

"Uncle Andy- did you fly _this_?" he asked in awe. "Well, I mean, only three times for flight testing-" Steven and Connie both whispered 'wow' as Peridot turned to him. "This model is objectively superior to the one you operate now. Cleaner lines, lighter frame, greater lift, better payload, more overall efficiency- why don't you use it?" Andy raised his eyebrows and nodded slowly in approval. Then he took a long, deep breath, and sighed heavily, hanging his head.

"We crashed." The lines that mapped his weathered face gained definition, disappointment overtaking him. "No – _I_ crashed." He touched a blade on the propeller nearest him with affection. "You din' do nothing wrong. I messed up, pushed when I shoulda been thinkin'. Meh," he said, then straightened himself and smoothed his coat. "Was everyone okay?" pressed Pearl. "Oh, yeah, no injuries but some dinged-up pride. And this," he said, indicating below the craft.

Everyone stooped to see. On the bottom of the body and cabin of the sleek ship were streaks of mud and scars left by rocks. Where the doors for the undercarriage were, heavy denting had clearly distorted the shape enough to keep them from opening. "It's smashed. I don't have replacement parts, I don't have a machine shop, and even if I had the money, the manufacturer went under." Andy looked down at the shiny metal, jaw set.

Pearl put her hand on his shoulder. "Well, we're glad you weren't hurt." He nodded, then composed himself. "Thanks. Look at me, grown man fussin' over ancient history." He indicated several spaces that had been cleared against the walls and along the ramp. "We need to get squared away, an' make some space for Miss Topaz." Content the subject had been changed, Pearl felt free to offer her opinion.

"I think Peridot and I should be in the basement because, er-" Andy nodded. "Because you're stronger. No worries." With that, the small task began. Steven was the man of the hour, receiving tires and panels and sundry objects on the ladder itself after proving to be the strongest Gem present. The space was whipped into shape in short order, and with many of the idle objects moved downstairs, the barn seemed to double in size.

"Hey- could you two come upstairs for a minute? I gotta ask somethin'." Steven took his Uncle's hand-up, and then helped Peridot and Pearl. Andy led them to a corner where several objects stood in a neat stack. The whole thing looked very deliberate, with bricks separating each layer of tires, two stacks side-by-side. Inside both was a small brass lamp. "Dis looks like, eh, a... thing. Somebody made it. I don't wanna ruin it."

Peridot stood by it proudly. "It's a meepmorp! I made this one. What do you think?" Andy scratched his head. "Art," said Steven quietly. Peridot suddenly remembered something, and pushed a plug into the socket on the wall behind her work. One side illuminated, casting shadows onto the wall and floor. Andy nodded, scratching his chin. "Yeah. Yeah, I get it. The dichotomy of inner light and darkness. 'S good." Peridot beamed. Then she turned to Pearl. "See- Andy gets it." Pearl shrugged.

The smell of hot dogs and seasonings wafted in through the big double-door, and all four humans turned. "Ohh, yeah!" said Steven, not realizing just how hungry he'd been during the excitement and activity. He and Connie raced back to the circle of chairs and logs, where Greg was knelt down next to the fire and the cast-iron mesh that held the franks. The fire was very bright, and Steven realized even over the short quarter hour they had spent arranging the barn, how dark it had become.

The curtain of night had fallen fully, and the stars blazed against the satin darkness and splash of the galactic plane. The air was so pure on this night that even the _colors_ of the distant suns came through. The clarity of the evening added to some new strangeness that had descended onto the farm. Nothing had really changed, besides his learning about the other aircraft, and how the barn had a downstairs and looked different now. He wondered if it was just him cooling down from an adventure, or something bigger he didn't yet understand.

"Steven, aren't you gonna eat?" Greg was holding out a small plate with two franks on it, which he received with a 'thank you'. "Dad- does the farm seem different to you?" Greg looked around. "Not- no, not really. Just Golden Topaz. What's up?" Steven looked across the little fire to where his new friend was increasingly reclined. She was giggling with Amethyst and Connie's Mother as they chatted. "Um. Nothing, I guess." Seeing her socializing, with people he knew, delighted him so much that the weirdness that the farm had taken on left his mind. He moved closer to listen, chose a seat right of Dr. Maheswaran, and looked around.

In the center of the circle was Greg, with the fire, cooking. Arranged around it was nearly everyone but Pearl and Peridot who seemed to be working on something in the barn. On his right was Connie and her Dad, Doug, in a double sports chair, with Andy at the edge on a log. To his left was Connie's Mom on an old folding aluminum and nylon weave lawn chair that matched the one Golden Topaz was on, in its garish pea green.

Beyond her were the Rubies, and then Garnet, and finally Lapiz, all seated on logs. Pumpkin was snuggled and sound asleep in her lap. Lion was lying with his huge head on his paws behind Topaz. Both of his eyes were closed, but both of his ears were focused on her. She continued her story, something about when she was a young Gem. "- so enthusiastic that every time we came across one of her excavations, we would 'heal' it, and all of her work would return to the ground and its original state. Poor Zirconia," she giggled again. Her voice seemed strange and uneven. She continued.

"When she finally figured it out, she chased us from the new gem areas all the way to the primary storage. She was so angry, it took two Rubies to hold her back," she laughed so hard she was gasping for breath. The Rubies were laughing heartily at her story, and Amethyst was in tears. Even Garnet had to stifle her smirk. Pearl and Peridot finally joined the camp and took their seats. Pearl looked confused, and Peridot shook her head. "I knew she'd have to acclimate to Earth's magnetic field, but I didn't think it'd affect her this much."

Topaz noticed the Rubies laughing, and sat upright clumsily. Only Priyanka's intervention kept her from swerving off of her chair, catching her from behind by the shoulders with both hands. Despite this, Priyanka was starting to laugh. Topaz, on the other hand, had gone from giggly to somber. "We're sorry! We were so wicked-" Doc interrupted. "This has to be the fourth time you've apologized! It's okay!" she said, beginning to laugh at Topaz's state.

Steven squinted at the yellow and orange Gem. "Are you okay?" he asked, not understanding what was going on. "Oh! That's Steven! She's the one who saved us from that hideous recording," she said brightly, needlessly explaining to Lapiz, who nodded patiently. "Where are you?" she asked, facing the wrong way as she searched. With all the care a much more delicate operation might require, Topaz slowly eased around until she was facing the right echelon of the group. She brightened on seeing him, warm yellow sunlight rippling across the camp and crops.

"We are _splendid_ , Steven, thank you! You liberated us," she said in her funny, uneven voice. Andy cleared his throat. "Ehem. Steven is a 'he', a boy," he said. Steven stood, and stepped over to her, holding a hand out to his Uncle. "It's okay, that's Earth stuff. She doesn't know any of that yet." He moved to the other side of her chair, and she weav-ily turned to follow. "Oh, it's true. 'Boy' and 'Mother' and 'Dad' are all strange ideas." Steven helped her lay back again.

Andy frowned. He looked at the Gems, at Lion and Pumpkin, at the ship. "So, 'Earth stuff'- Greg, when you said 'alien' you meant-" Andy pointed at the sky. Greg rolled his eyes. "Yeah, Andy. _That_ kind of alien." Connie's Parents eyes narrowed as they listened to Greg and Andy. Steven could see them looking at the ship, at Garnet and Lapiz, at Pearl and Peridot, at Amethyst and the Rubies. At Topaz's inclusion.

Topaz clasped her hand over her gem. "You," she began, taking in Connie's Mom, "are a healer. We can tell by how you look at people," she said. "You're looking at features and gestures, vital indicators, and you can't stop." Doug laughed and nodded. "You have no idea." This earned him a poke from Connie. Topaz laughed with him. "When one is a nurturer by nature, it cannot be suppressed." She turned to Steven. "You are part warrior, but you have a very strong nurturer in you," she told him. Lapiz shuffled.

"Bark. Bark? Barkbark!" Pumpkin wriggled free from Lapiz. "It's about time you woke up," she said. Pumpkin hopped down from her lap and dashed out into the light of the fire. As it did, Rubies cascaded away from it over the log they had been seated on, and peered back over. Connie and her parents stared at it, and Topaz sat forward to see. Pumpkin found Steven and submitted itself for a belly rub. "You crazy thing," said Steven as he picked it up and lavished attention on it.

It settled happily with Steven for a moment before noticing Topaz. She realized it had seen her and sat back just in time for it to spring for her lap. She caught it in the air. Unfazed, Pumpkin began licking her face. She set it down in her lap gently, where it sat expectantly. "What do I do?" she asked. "You could pet her," said Lapiz, making the gesture. Topaz began to pet Pumpkin, and scrutinize it. For a moment they all sat in silence as Pumpkin drank in the attention.

"Steven, this creature seems to be equal parts organic and gem magic," said Topaz finally. "Is the fusing of organics and gems so common here?" Steven blushed. "Uh, no, it just kind of happened." He could tell by her expression she didn't follow his meaning. "There's just me, and then I planted Pumpkin. Oh, and the watermelon people. That was sort of an accident," he admitted. "He healed me," added Eyeball. "And me," added Lapiz. Topaz turned from one to the next as each party testified, nodding and growing a little brighter.

She leaned over and gave Steven a warm one-armed hug, to the jealous Pumpkin's dismay. "You're a caretaker. You couldn't stop if you wanted to," she said, squeezing. "But you need to learn caution. We'll teach you to apply your power judiciously, and how to focus it for specific effects. Once you've been taught the fundamentals, we can start looking at your friends, like your Centi-person and Jasper, and see if we can heal them sooner rather than later." Steven beamed. She stood him back gently, and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Unsolicited healing can cause more harm than the injury you were trying to help," she said. "It can damage trust, or create a rejection. Please be more careful in the future, Steven," she admonished. Topaz hugged him again and reclined back into the seat. "I will." As she settled, Pumpkin began shuffling her robes and made itself a shallow nest from the folds on her lap.

Connie looked at the little creature as it settled in. "Topaz?" She lay back to see Connie behind her parents. "Other gems don't wear clothes. How come you do?" she asked, unsure if she was entering into a personal space or not, but Topaz seemed at ease. She sighed. "Certain gems are more delicate than others. Topazes, for instance," she gestured to herself, "are susceptible to high frequency light waves, like the ones emitted by the local star here," she said, gesturing to the ground behind her, where the sun had recently set. Steven and Connie realized that Topaz seemed to know exactly which way the sun was.

"This garment was made by Fluorite for us. She drew the silicates and wove them. They're opaque, and protect us from strong starlight. That's why the collars are so thick," she said, examining a fold of the material. "What happens if you get too much light?" Steven asked. "We fade and become somewhat transparent. Our surfaces become sensitive, and some of our abilities become much weaker. In reality, we Topaz are not powerful Gems." Garnet cleared her throat.

"That hole you made in the shell of the shrine would suggest otherwise," she said. Topaz turned her face away from Steven, and down. "That was inappropriate of us," she whispered. "And we are an outlier in your sample. Most Topaz are far less adept with such things, content with our place as servants of our people. There is little need to train Topazes in combat or in healing. Combat is for Quartzes," she motioned to Amethyst and Steven, "or Rubies." Doc and the others smiled broadly as she nodded to them. "Healing and protection come naturally," she went on quietly.

Andy and Doug returned with armfuls of logs. Greg began putting some of the larger ones into the embers. "Didn't realize how low the fire was getting. Thanks," he said as he worked to get the fire and light rekindled. Heavy shadows played behind the onlookers, creating strange images on the corn and trees. "You showed real restraint, not using that blast against the Rubies," offered Pearl.

No one else seemed to notice, but Steven was acutely aware of a sudden and brief instant of tension as all the hair on his arm nearest Topaz stood on end. Her eyes widened and jaw dropped in shock at Pearl's suggestion. "Such energies must _never_ be directed at a _Gem_! We would never even consider such a thing! It would be unforgivable!" she said. Pearl put her hands up in surrender. "I didn't mean anyone should, but, you know, bad Gems, uh," she began.

"What she means is you kept your cool," said Amethyst, attempting to preserve the moment. She left it there for a moment as the air cleared and emotions eased down. "You used that staff you made, instead of using your own weapon. Do you have one? Not every Gem does," she pressed finally. Topaz looked back down between herself and Priyanka. On the ground there lay the staff. Even with lion casually laying his huge paws on one end, the obsidian glass, cool as it was, seemed to glow periwinkle in the dim light of the moon and the low fire Greg was still kindling.

"No," said Topaz, averting herself, and looking deeply into the moonlight staff's glass. "We did, once, but it's gone now." She unconsciously adjusted her collar near her stone. Deep, oily shadows danced against the barn as the moon went behind a heavy cloud, leaving the fire the only illumination. "Do you remember what it was?" asked Amethyst softly. Topaz nodded. "As if we were holding it now. It was a singing staff, my companion in healing, and defending-" she began, getting lost in the memory. There she stayed for a moment, until remembering where she was. "It's gone."

They sat in a new silence for a moment until Lapiz spoke. "You called me 'Purity' earlier. It's been a long time since anyone called me that. Nobody talks like that anymore," she said and paused. "It's pretty." Topaz turned to her and smiled. "You were a general- did they have an honorific for you?" she asked. Topaz rolled her eyes. "Our honorific, ugh. Yes, there was one." She corrected her robes. "If you can stand such a thing, it was," she began, trying not to smirk, "Resonance. But please, just 'Topaz' will do." Lapiz laughed. "Your 'Resonance', I like it." Pearl nodded. "It fits." Topaz blushed orangely. "Please, just 'Topaz'. That's our name. Golden Topaz, Facet GHZ23, Cut RF8. Just 'Topaz' is fine."

Steven blinked. 'RF8'- there was something. Something, somewhere wanted him to remember it, but whatever it was wanting remembered didn't have the grace to take shape. It just wanted to nag from the shadows. The fire was now kindled, and a fine blaze for a campfire burned, casting sparks and gray smoke skyward. Greg began to pluck and tune his guitar, and instantly Steven forgot his concern. He easily found his Ukulele and returned to find Connie and Greg sharing a little improv duet, Greg with his acoustic guitar and Connie on her violin.

Greg slapped the space next to him, inviting Steven to join in. Music began to dance with the sparks and smoke, and small conversations began to spread quietly, while others sang to the tunes. The rubies had begun to move about restlessly, and were talking to Peridot. Garnet sat down beside Topaz where the Rubies had been. Topaz seemed to be content to giggle and watch the trio of musicians perform silly songs and compete and collaborate. The performance seemed to improve as the evening wore on.

High overhead, a passenger jet left a contrail in the bright moonlight. They watched it pass, and the contrail widened and thinned into a silver ribbon that spanned the sky from one edge of vision to the other. After a while, another aircraft, much lower, droned vaguely overhead. "Lotta traffic tanight," said Andy, peering upward. "Beech Twin, headed ta Dover," he concluded. After a few more minutes, a huge cargo plane, miles up, pulled another silver ribbon across the sky.

"Once, the sky on Mars bustled with such vehicles," said Topaz. "You miss the old days, don't you," observed Garnet. Topaz nodded. "Yes. And no." She gestured to the farm. "But this is the present, and we will live here, and now." Garnet nodded. There was a pause. "We can't answer if you won't ask," stated Topaz plainly. Garnet blinked, but retained her demeanor of cool. "Can you tell me about her?" Topaz glanced away from the sky. "Fluorite?" She smiled deeply, and gazed into the rising smoke.

"Fluorite was our dearest. She was clever and kind and beautiful." Faintly, and image formed in the air above her. Greg stopped playing and stared. "Whoah," gasped Doug. Fluorite was tall gem, close to Garnet's height, but slender. Warm shades of pink and purple were swirled throughout her. Her face as tall and slender as she was, and bright and joyous. The still image was mid-laugh. Steven recognized her at once and jumped up. "Oh! That's her!"

"She's pretty," Connie remarked quietly. "She was the recorder of facts and events. It was her purpose to create and store data. She was assigned with us after we distinguished ourself as a potent healer when the Peridot we were made for was caught in an explosion with her team," she explained. Peridot squealed with delight. "When our Diamond finally heard of the incident, we were reassigned to a hazardous duty company to train newer Topazes. Fluorite was assigned to our group to record advanced healing techniques, things like treatment of specific injury by Gem Magic, Harmonic Resonance in Determining Fracture Depth, Combined Effort Healing, Emergency Diagnosis, Proper Seeding Methods, things of that nature," she said, re-settling herself on the chair.

Lion opened one eye to see what she was doing. Pumpkin settled with her. Greg poked Steven. "Pay attention. This is another kind of time travel," he said. Steven looked down at his Dad, confused, then up at the image. Greg was right. In the smoke above him was the image of a person who had lived... Millions? -of years ago. More? During the dinosaurs' rule? Before then? Steven tried to fathom the number, but soon realized that was beyond his understanding.

He turned around to see Topaz. She lay there, smiling up at the image. Without warning, the strangeness returned. It wasn't just the Martian Shrine that was made of memories; Topaz was, too. Many, many, truly ancient memories of people and events, before humans were human. She lived in that time, she was there, a part of it. Fluorite was there, too. "Buddy, what's buggin' you? You've been acting funny since we got back." Greg patted the spot Steven had been during the music. "I don't know," he said. "It's probably nothing. I don't want to ruin the party." Steven sat down again, and readied his Ukulele.

Topaz went on. "She was quite intelligent. She was keeping concurrent records of events, and helped us simplify our patient records. She made it much more efficient. She even experimented with newer data formats." The image changed to a movie of Fluorite with a floating globe of molten material. She had a smock on, and stood next to a desk with some sort of console on it. As she worked, the globe changed shape. "She couldn't muster the kind of heat she needed. We showed her some of our own methods to muster thermal energy, and she understood very quickly."

Garnet allowed a smile to form on her mouth as she listened. "When did you know? What told you 'she's the one'?" she asked. Topaz closed her eyes. As she blushed, so did the color of the watery light in the smoke and on the trees, warming the color. "It was that day, when we were, eh, I was, dictating notes, and complaints to the recorder. She seemed to think I was talking to her, so she listened. She sat there and simply listened for what had to be a fair part of the day. Just listening. She didn't even stir. And I was oblivious, absorbed in my tirade and notes. Didn't realize she'd come in until I'd thoroughly embarrassed myself." The image changed again to one of Fluorite seated in an classroom style seat, head propped in her hands, eyes focused, interested. "She had to know part way through the monologue that I was dictating, but she remained and listened, to all of it. Every rambling, nonsensical thing." Topaz frowned at the sky.

"That was the day w- I was diagnosed with Chronic Involuntary Illumination. And she paid attention." All of her features softened, and she settled further into the lawn chair. "Though, _telling_ her how I felt, about her, was another matter. Hers was the greater courage. She declared her feelings not too long afterward." Topaz sighed. "The wait was terrible. My courage at that time was not abundant."

The memory-movie played on as the scene changed. A classroom filled with various gems, assembled in front of Topaz, who was giving a lecture. Fluorite waited in the back patiently. Whatever little classroom this was, it certainly wasn't the amphitheater in the shrine. The audio was weak. "Great! So, are there any more questions?" Memory-Topaz waited for a moment. "Class is dismissed." Gems began to stand and collect their things, and Fluorite began to weave to the front through the press of people leaving.

"If you think of anything later, I'll be here or in my office, and remember that grain boundaries and stacking faults are important health interests!" Topaz called out to the bustling crowd. Fluorite made it to the front finally, and took a place beside her. "Hello Fluorite, do you have a question?" The pink and purple Gem paused. "I need to talk to you privately," she said and blushed. Topaz gestured to the two Rubies who were posted at the doors. They nodded and escorted the stragglers out, then shut the doors behind them as they exited.

"Is this okay?" asked Topaz. Fluorite nodded, and inhaled. "I like you," she said. Topaz nodded, at the time not grasping the significance of what she was being told. "I like you too. What can I do for you?" she said, oblivious. Garnet giggled as she watched the memory. "You had no clue, did you," she said. Topaz only shook her head. The memory played on. "No, I mean, a lot. What I mean is..." she stopped, and straightened herself, revealing how much taller she was than Topaz. "Love- This isn't how I imagined this going." The memory, which had been blurry against the smoke, drew into sudden sharp focus.

"Oh!" memory-Topaz squeaked. Fluorite blinked and braced. "What?" she asked, evidently awaiting rejection. Topaz began to stammer. "Please! Yes!" she said. Fluorite went on, brightening. "You're not afraid?" she asked. Steven watched as the smoke and the memory and much of the farm filled with a deep, rosy pink glow. "Afraid of what?" asked Topaz. "Of me. Of my feelings for you." Fluorite inhaled. "Of the law."

Sparks flew as Greg added fuel to the fire, and leaves began to burn. The image of Topaz above him set her feet. "The law," she scoffed. "The law telling us only 'like Gems may pair'? That fusion is a 'function of the state'?" She spun to face a placard hung above the door. It was a checkered pattern set up on its corner, each square a different color. "Laws don't govern passion! Gems are passionate people! No law could stop this," she said turning back to Fluorite, "No one could stop us." The pink and purple Gem turned Topaz around, and lifted her into the air, and the image paused there as their lips met.

Steven took in the image for the entire duration it remained projected on the smoke. The joy and affection captured there was the equal of any he'd seen anywhere. Eventually the image faded, replaced only with gray clouds that wove and writhed into the sky, and Steven turned around. Topaz had fully submitted herself to the tender mercies of the reclining chair, with Pumpkin cuddled under her arm. Her eyes were closed, but a curve bent the arc of her lips pleasantly and pink light sparkled faintly from her gem.

"I thought you said Gems don't need to sleep," stated Priyanka. "Normally, that's true, but her circumstances aren't normal," said Pearl. "She's been kept awake by those who imprisoned her," added Garnet. At the word 'imprisoned', Lapiz flinched, and cast a scowl up at the sky. "For days at a time? That's against international law-" began Doug. "Four-Billion, three-hundred-million years," said Peridot. Everyone stared, some looking between Peridot and Topaz, others just staring at the sleeping Gem.

Steven tried to process the number. Dinosaurs. The last dinosaurs lived 65 million years ago, but those were the _last_ ones. Four Billion. The number didn't have any equivalent in his mind. It was simply too big. He remembered some of the science shows he watched likened time to a book, and that humankind's whole existence was the last few words in the book. Had Topaz lived whole chapters? More than half? He felt like a speck, a footnote or a sidebar on the last page '-and then there were people.'

"But that's terrible!" hissed Doug, outraged. "Who'd do such a thing?" he demanded. Amethyst stood. "A monster," she said. "Is this what gems do to each other?" asked Priyanka. Garnet shook her head. "No. Most Gems just want to live and let live. But there are bad Gems," she said. "She's why we fight," said Pearl. "That's not who we want to be. That's not what we are."

Priyanka stood and dusted herself off. "Do we need to move her? She said Topazes are sensitive to bright light. Won't she get a... local... star... fade- if we leave her?" she asked, listening to her own voice produce a phrase she never imagined she'd say. Eyeball moved closer to her. "She said 'delicate'. She doesn't fight 'delicate', but now, just layin' there, she does look like it."

Peridot glanced at the barn. "We made a spot for her- can we move her?" she asked. Andy and Doug got to their feet, but it was Amethyst and Eyeball who lifted the lawnchair. Andy and Doug went ahead of them and cleared a path. At first Pumpkin watched them with suspicion, but when it was clear no one was altering its sleeping situation, it quickly cuddled back in and settled down. Lion casually stretched, and meandered around the campfire.

It was a small matter to move her and get her settled into the barn. Soon she was situated near an inner wall, in a makeshift cell whose walls were burlap-and-twine. Steven and Amethyst looked at her as she lay. A tiny movie played on the ceiling above her as she dreamed, and images projected from her gem. They watched for a moment, before Amethyst tugged the glass fiber collar up. "A little privacy," she said. Lion nosed the burlap 'wall' aside, and seemed to have casually meandered his way in.

Topaz stirred, and rolled onto her side. Briefly, her eyes fluttered open. They found Steven and Amethyst before shutting again, and the pleasant curve of her smile deepened as she returned to sleep. "She just needs to adjust," Steven asserted before he realized what he was saying. He'd just blurted it out, and had startled himself. But he knew he was right, as well. "Oh. Okay," said Amethyst simply as she looked on. Lion pawed a big tractor tire that was lying on its side, and got onto it, and sat, facing them.

He stared at them for a moment, then began to scratch his chin. He did this for a moment, then stopped mid-scratch, and stared at them again, waiting. Steven cleared his throat. "So- we'll be by the fire," he explained lamely. Lion stopped scratching, and curled onto the tire with his back to them. His ears were still tracking. Steven and Amethyst smirked as they left, tying the curtain shut behind them, the last to leave.

He hesitated with his hand still on the nylon boat line that held the grommets cinched. He wanted to watch over her. "Don't worry, Steven. She's got lion with her, and he looks pretty determined." Amethyst was right. She was protected by a magic lion. And an animated pumpkin, who, if nothing else, could alert her and lion to any danger. And Lapiz and Peridot would be here as well. Steven nodded, and led the way back. Still, some vague tickle in his mind made him feel derelict in his duties.

As they reached the fire, now burned well-down, they discovered the people there looking skyward. They both looked up as well, and were rewarded as a particle entered the atmosphere high above them, and drew a streak across the sky. Connie spotted them and ran to Steven. "The Perseids!" He blinked. "What?" Connie giggled. "It's a meteor shower! There's this comet that comes through, and this is tiny stuff from its tail!" she explained. Another bit streaked overhead.

Steven smiled, a clean, happy smile. Even with the farm's strangeness, even with the nibble in the back of his mind, he was happy. Genuinely happy. What they had all accomplished today, however small his own part in it was, was monumental. Another particle streaked noiselessly overhead. He had been a part of something great. He settled into his spot next to his Dad, who was toying with a tune, turning it silly. Connie giggled, and joined in, and Steven couldn't help himself.

More streaks animated the sky as they played. They played merrily until only the red embers burned, illuminating just the inner rim of the rusty metal ring. Eventually, the energy of the performers waned as well, and only Greg strummed out an old, slow ballad. Once the song was done, they sat, staring into the old fire pit. Andy stirred, and got to his feet. "Well, I'm whupped. I'll be turnin' in. Yous guys feel free to stick around. Greg, can you bury da fire before ya finish up?" Greg nodded. "Oh- it's 12:15!" Yelped Dr. Maheswaran. "Yeah, it's time to call it quits," Doug agreed. "Connie, grab your violin."

There was a bustle of activity as people began to straighten the little circle. Garbage was collected, embers were buried, and ancient aluminum seats were folded as much as they would still allow. Andy had switched on the outside floods mounted on the barn, and the electric light made the farm look cold and haunted. Soon belongings were packed into cars or stowed back in the barn. Connie hugged Steven and Greg. "Thank you for having us, I'm so glad you made it back, and everything worked out!" Steven hugged her back. "See you tomorrow?" he asked.

Connie's smile diminished a little. "Tomorrow is Sunday- I have violin practice, so maybe later in the afternoon?" she said. "Yeah!" Steven said. Priyanka and Doug exchanged goodbyes with Andy and Greg. "Thank you for the food, and thank you for letting us join you this evening. We didn't mean to impose, but Connie was unconsolable," explained Priyanka. "It wasn't no imposition." Andy looked over at the two youngsters. "Steven's got a real friend in Connie. He couldn't do no better," he said and smiled. "Take care, you three. I'll be at the car wash tomorrow. Sunday's a big day," added Greg . "Hey- if you bring the wagon by, I can get you a free wash."

"Oh! Thanks! I might do that after we drop Connie off," said Doug. Priyanka found Garnet, and took a breath. "Would it be alright if I came by sometime to talk to you, and the others? I want to learn about Gems, and I want to observe Golden Topaz." Garnet frowned. "Observe?" she asked simply. The Doctor nodded. "To understand her injury, and to hear some more of her stories." She shifted her feet. "I learned more about Gem- uh- 'kind'? -tonight than in the entire time I've known of you." Garnet nodded as she spoke. "Yeah, I think we can manage that," said Garnet, a little flattered. No humans in a very long time had expressed so specifically an interest in her people, and simply asked. Then there was Ronaldo-

"Okay, let's get going." Doug opened the doors for his family. The Maheswarans all waved their goodbyes as the piled into the wagon. Doug started the car, and they eventually disappeared in a cloud of road dust and tail lights. Steven looked around at the farm. He'd never been outside the barn this late, or after a gathering of any kind. Certainly Uncle Andy and his Dad seemed perfectly at home with it. Maybe this was how it was a lot in the old days. Pearl and Peridot had returned to the first floor of the barn and were back to setting up their strange machines.

Garnet had 'hopped' up to the roof, and had sauntered out of view to the other end, probably overlooking the road and out to sea. Lapiz was inside reading. Uncle Andy and his Dad were over by the old airplane talking and working on something. As he got closer, he realized they were talking about the aircraft. "I mean, it's expensive, ya know? Nobody wants ta insure her, 'cept as museum piece, and she gulps down gas so bad these days I can barely afford fuel, even givin' joyrides to and sky tours." He sighed, and it seemed as though even the fields and trees shared the deep breath, leaves and limbs shuddering in the breeze.

"I may have ta sell 'er, and get some kinda used bush plane. Or stop flyin'." Greg watched Andy stomp with added vigor on the foot pump that was connected to the limp air mattress that was draped over the wing. They noticed Steven joining them. "Hey, buddy! You wanna take over for a minute pumping up the mattress while Andy and I get the shelter halves hung up?" asked Greg. Steven took over without a word, and watched the men set up the shelter halves, which simply snapped directly onto the leather collar surrounding the open cockpit.

"Are you sure you don't want some help with the plane? I could help-" Andy cut Greg off. "Look, I appreciate it an' all, but this is sort of a personal thing. If I don't sort it out, I dunno, I think it'd feel like I din do it right, like I cheated er somethin'," he said with conviction. Greg only nodded, conceding the point. He knew better. Steven watched them and concluded that when his Uncle made a decision, only fate or acts of nature could sway it. He was now even more glad he'd decided to let Lapiz and Peridot stay on farm. "You use dat money ta take care o' my Nephew," he said, casting a smile in Steven's direction.

Steven couldn't help but return the smile. The pedal on the pump was getting stiff, and he realized the mattress was filled. "This is done," he said. Andy and Greg had finished staking down the lean-to. Andy received the mattress from Steven, and went inside his small shelter, and let him stick his head in. It wasn't as small from on the inside as it looked. It was very nearly a tent, and a hatch on the fuselage of the aircraft gave Andy access to its contents. "You sure you're okay like this?" asked Greg. Andy laughed. "Yeah- been doin' this for 20 years, give or take. Wouldn't have it no other way."

Greg laughed. "We'll be in the van if you need anything. You said you're staying until Monday?" he asked. "That's just two days! How come you have to leave so soon?" asked Steven. Andy continued to lay out his bedroll. "I gotta go get a charter in Dover an' fly 'em out ta the Motor City with a stop by Flood Memorial for gas." He patted the old machine. "If you love the way ya live, sometimes ya gotta hustle." He kicked off his big boots one by one, each thumping heavily on the floor of the shelter. "Things'r changin'. Maybe once I get stuff figured out, I can be here more often, an' stay longer, an' we can go do fun stuff," said Andy, smiling up Steven.

Steven beamed. "Yeah! That sounds great!" Andy sat back against the aircraft, and stretched his legs out. "See you in the morning. Now go get some shuteye- it sounds like you got a busy day tomorrow, what wit Miss Connie an' all." Greg tapped his arm. "Yeah, he's right. Let's get some sleep. I gotta get up early, which means you do, too."

They bade each other good night, and he and Greg retired to the van. His dad always had a space ready for him, and the familiar smell of the van, popcorn and mint upholstery cleaner and pine air freshener and vulcanized rubber, and the way sounds came through the aluminum skin, tinny and vague and muted, were comforting. They kicked off their shoes, and after a few more 'goodnights', lay down to sleep. Steven was certainly tired. Exhausted. But even as he relaxed onto his pillow, the events and unanswered questions of the day piled into his mind and vied for priority.

The battle between Topaz and the Rubies still rang in his feet, and he remembered the how the blows raced through the floor and ground. He still didn't know that much about Fluorite, or what she did, or what it was about her that could make the wordiest Gem he'd known since Pearl inarticulate and _blushy_. He wanted to hear more about how new Gems are made. He'd heard how the kindergartens on Mars couldn't start without her. What did she know that no one else did? There were the great fusions, and the Gems that made them. He wanted to meet them, or for Topaz to tell him about them. About Golden Star Sapphire, about her spells. About Zirconia, about the Bismuths, about Diorite.

About Champagne Diamond. Was she a tyrant, used to casually balancing lives on her moods? Did the Diamonds have different jobs? Did Diamonds _do_ jobs, or did they just rule, living lives of luxury, bemoaning the weight of their domains? And then there was the question of the Amethysts. One was certainly the one who- Steven shuddered. The one who ordered the shattering of Gems. The thought of her was a dark place in his thoughts, malevolent shadows twisted and curled into inaccessible corners where one would dread to shine a light, for fear of revealing something more terrible in light than it was in obscurity.

Then there was the other one. Topaz had touched her likeness with such respect and grief. What had really gone on? They were her teachers. He'd seen her dream about learning combat from RG6. He remembered the battle with Fusion Ruby, and the practice session with the Amethyst she was learning from. The restrained rage was something he'd never seen, and it had been restrained. At once he wanted to know what her full fury in battle would be like, and didn't. He wasn't sure he wanted to know. Amethyst RG6 and Topaz had fought, one-on-one she'd said, and Amethyst had lost to her. Amethyst had been defending organic life, and lost. She was, at her core, a good-guy.

So why did Amethyst RG6 conjure the same shadowy, twisted fears as RG7? For whatever reason, the place she held was as dark and unwelcoming as RG7, and he tried to dismiss his thoughts and questions, and focused on the sound of the wind. The winds outside rolled lazily by the edges of the van, causing the fenders to hum. Steven's eyes slid closed. The wind hummed again.

He remembered his first day on Mars, how the wind would blow the sand and dust into the air. How the dust devils would form, and rain material down for miles, a fine silty coating on everything, and cast everything into shadow. The shadows were sharp, and long, a mild change in brightness on Mars' red and black and orange rocks and soil. In his mind, the shadows began to writhe. The hammer had cast a shadow, too. These shadows would reach, stretch, grasp. It was as though the hammer had life inside it. Merciless life, thirsty, greedy, never satisfied. The face was gouged by numberless impacts, and some of the crevices reflected sparks of color. The striking face was carved to look like a maw, filled with great, curved teeth. Wedged into the spaces between the teeth were tiny, lifeless gem shards.

It was coming closer.

" _Start with_ _ **that**_ _one_."

Steven sat bolt upright, and clutched at his sleeping bag, panting. Greg opened his eyes and sat up, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Steven?" He took a shuddering breath. "It was a dream," he said simply. "A pretty vivid one, by the look of it. Are you okay?" asked Greg. Steven shook it off. "Yeah. I just- I don't know," he said. Greg scooted over to him, and popped the back doors open. "Nothin' goin' on here. It's just us, in the safest place we could be." Steven nodded. Greg gave him a one arm hug. "Your head is still filled with stuff from today. You got Gem questions, don't you?" he said. 

Steven looked up at his Dad. "Yeah. Things are different now, aren't they?" he said. "Yeah. But things are always getting different. It doesn't stop." He let go of his son. "Go talk to Pearl or Garnet. I can't help too much with Gem things, but I bet they can." Steven stood up and put his shoes back on. He gave his Dad a hug. "I'll be here for the human stuff," smiled Greg. "Do you want me to come with you?" he asked. Steven shook his head. "You have to get some sleep, even if I can't." He shut the first door. "I can do this." Greg nodded. "I'm very proud of you." Steven blushed as Greg mussed his hair before Steven shut the other door.

Steven felt the deep sleep in the world around him. Beach City was mostly shut down, its citizens distantly resting in the wee hours. The little camp light was out in Andy's shelter. The distant homes down the hill were dark, and any of the animals that lived there were asleep. There were no birds making any noise, and even the frogs and crickets had quieted down. But there was wakefulness, too. Above, he could hear the bats clicking, and the odd black flitting overhead told him they were collecting insects. For a moment, a shadow against shadow unfurled its wings, swooped silently into the tall maize, and rose again into the trees, an owl, probably the barred owl who lived in the big hollow tree at the end of the field.

Steven peeked inside the barn. Pearl and Peridot worked a square and a divider down the surface of a diagram of some sort and made notes on a chalkboard. They were busy. He walked around the end of the barn. Overhead, he could see Garnet's perfect mane and the reflection of the sky in her visor. Steven coiled, and sprang. As a Gem, he was particularly strong, and had no trouble reaching the roof. He lit gently onto the roof, and went up to the peak to join Garnet.

"Hello. Shouldn't you be in bed?" she asked without turning. "I had a bad dream." He stood next to her, and looked out over the landscape. The moon was low over the water, and reflected fiercely. Another streak above them flared for a moment before it was gone. The view here was unsurpassed without simply flying. Streetlights and the absence of reflected stars were the only sign Beach City was there in the distance.

"Garnet?" She stood silently, and turned to him. "I wanna ask questions." She sat on the ledge, and made a place for him, sweeping away leaves and feathers. "Go on," she invited. Steven sat next to her, and stared at his feet for a moment. "I don't know what questions, um, or what kinds of questions. But I want to ask Gems I _know_ the important ones. The ones that are hard or awful." He paused and composed his thoughts. Garnet took her visor off.

"I could ask Topaz things, and she'd tell me, and I know it'd be true. But what she knows might be different from now. I think I could ask her little things about Gems. But I want to learn about Gem history from you, and Pearl. Then, maybe if I understand it better, I can be better at helping when we go on missions." He exhaled. "I think that's what I mean. Does it make sense?" he asked, now bashful, vaguely aware of the weight in the statement.

Red, blue, and purple, all perfect, Garnet's eyes blinked. She leaned closer to him. "You're growing up. Yes, I'll tell you whatever you want to know." When she did, Garnet's smile was a beacon of hope in even the darkest night. All of the fluttering his heart had been doing took its leave without notice, and wouldn't be back soon. She looked over her shoulder in the direction of the van. "Greg probably said something like 'This is Gem stuff', and sent you to talk to me," she said, doing a fair impression of Greg, then turned back to Steven.

"But it's not 'Gem stuff', it's _Steven_ stuff, and he's a part of that." She gestured to the distant peninsula. At the tip was the Temple, and at its base, Steven's little house. "Gem history, and the story of the Gem war-" she paused, glancing down at the barn, "- _our_ Gem war, is violent and ugly. Parts of it will need Greg's approval." She shifted, adjusting her posture on the tin roof. "There are things you'll want to know about her history, too, and I definitely need to talk to Greg about that."

Steven scooted up to her, and leaned against her. "I'll ask a little bit at a time." He sat up. "It'll be nice to have another Gem with us to fight homeworld and gem mutants an' stuff." Garnet stopped him. "I don't think she wants to fight, Steven." He looked up at her. Some part of her smile had gone. "I understand. Maybe when she's done resting, then," he said brightly. "Oh, Steven- I think she may be done fighting. She's fought long enough, don't you think?" Steven thought for a moment.

Garnet was right, of course. She'd spent so long on Mars. How long before that fighting for organic life? But some weird disappointment was filtering through. She was the equal of any Gem Warrior he'd seen. Some element of that idea made his hair stand on end, but it wouldn't oblige him and take shape. There were several things eluding him, and he knew only sleep would bring them forward. He shook it away, and hugged Garnet. "You're right. She shouldn't have to."

She turned back to the ocean, and put her visor back on. "Don't be in too much of a rush to grow up." Steven grinned at her and stood. "I want to check on her before I go back to bed." He hopped down and landed without a sound, lightly. He went to the front and in through the big doors, and found Pearl and Peridot. They were still doing calculations and making drawings.

It was clearly a blueprint, with the classic white lines, measurements, notes and symbols. Line-trees cascaded up, down, left and right, and intermingled. As she drew, Pearl noticed him and turned. "Steven! Shouldn't you be asleep?" she asked. "Bad dream," he answered. "After today? But we did so well- I don't understand." She looked at him quizzically. Peridot put herself next to Pearl so she could face him. "What was it about?" Steven thought for a moment. Dreams were tricky, and he'd been trying to forget, but when Peridot asked, it came rushing back. "That hammer," he said. Everyone shuddered.

Pearl just nodded, and looked him in the eyes. "It's destroyed. Melted down." Peridot nodded. "Even the gem magic it was given was given is gone. It's a lump." They were right. More tension melted away. He produced a smile for them, and looked toward the back of the barn. Inside the little burlap cubicle, light played against the ceiling, telling him that the robe had fallen again, and that she was dreaming. The two gems parted and let him by without being asked.

He reached the outside of the curtain, but a certain tension made him stop. For a moment he couldn't sort out what it was he was sensing. Then he noticed the curtain shift, just slightly. He cleared his throat. "Lion, it's me," he whispered. There was just a swish of movement somewhere on the other side, followed by a hollow 'bump', as Lion went back to his tire. Steven lifted the curtain, and found the big cat watching Topaz's dream on the overhead.

Dimly, sounds accompanied the images, but any speech was lost as the dream seemed vague and nearly shapeless. A green blur mumbled something sharply as other blurs, and several small Topazes rushed around bustling without accomplishing anything. Topaz moaned and rolled onto her side, moving her dream onto Steven's chest. Her hand gripped her robe tightly, and she groaned more loudly. Bad dreams seemed to be contagious. He needed to do something.

"We won," he whispered. "You're on Earth, with Steven and Connie." There was a break in the dream, and for a moment he thought he'd either had no effect or made things worse. Then he heard the familiar sound of the songs he and his Dad had been singing while they waited for her to re-form on Mars. They were faint and vague, but they were there. He sang along softly as they played. Over a few moments, she softened.

Her hands released the edges of the fabric, and she uncurled, and stretched, fully occupying the little lawnchair. He looked at her as she lay. Seeing someone else asleep was unfamiliar. The Crystal Gems overall didn't sleep, except Amethyst, and usually only when he was or she was a cat. Amethyst. She was muscular, and athletic, defined, built for combat and warfare. Every bit of her was power. Her attitude, her obsession with wrestling, her need to challenge authority, and prove herself against stronger and stronger opponents.

Topaz was something else. While she had a certain strength in her build, it wasn't for combat. Where Amethyst was defined and hard lines, Topaz was soft. She was solid in her own way, someone he could hide behind without fear. But her form, given her by whatever governed Gem shapes, wasn't for combat. She'd changed shape for the battle with Fusion Ruby, but now, in her natural form, she was soft, inviting. Like a hard hug, or good but stern advice. Like tough love.

If she'd not been 'soft', would he have been drawn to her in the beginning the way he had? He frowned. That first day could have been very different if she were built like an Amethyst. She knew she wasn't meant for fighting. So why had she? But that was a foolish question. Pearl wasn't meant for fighting, either. It had been thrust upon her, and she'd taken it up. It must have been the same for Topaz.

But she was safe now. Everything that had hurt her was somewhere- and some-when- else. He found an unused tarp, and lay it across her. He knew she probably didn't need it, but it made him feel better. Lion watched interestedly as he worked, then rolled over with his paws against the wall.

The wind had died down by the time Steven reached the van. He opened the door as quietly as the squeaky thing would allow. Greg opened one eye, but Steven was unsure if he'd actually woken. In either case, he rolled over onto his back, and continued to lie still. Steven climbed in, pulled the door gently shut, and got back into his sleeping bag.

Pearl was right. They had done it. What was it Connie's stories always said? 'They had won the day?' He stretched, and felt the warmth build throughout the layers of cotton and rayon. They _had_ won the day. Victory was soundly in their favor this time. But instead of solving a puzzle, or collecting a troublesome gem, they had rescued a person.

Lapiz Lazuli. She had been trapped inside that mirror. When she tried to go back to Homeworld, she'd been intercepted by Jasper and Peridot. When Jasper... The Rubies were sent to retrieve her. Peridot had her conversation with Yellow Diamond. Meeting a new person meant meeting a whole group of people.

And now Topaz. With her came all of her memory people. Fluorite. Champagne Diamond. The Amethysts. Rubies, Sapphires, Bismuths, and Zirconias. A Peridot. He shut his eyes. Sleepiness was getting to him, and it was time to rest. There would be more puzzles, corrupted Gems to defeat, and people to meet. But they had, in the best possible way, won the day. The cool of the night, combined with the stillness of the deep evening drew him calmly into his sleep, and whatever dreams awaited him there.


	2. Earth, Chapter 02: The Calm

Chapter 2: The Calm

Steven awoke to the sensation of the van in motion. The gentle sway as it went around a long turn, and the way the sound of the road changed told him where they were. They were at the 'municipal boundary' in front of the Mayor's home. The world was the way it should have been, he decided, and was about to return to sleep when the heavy scent of vinegar, or maybe acetone, wafted to him.

"Amethyst, don't you dare." Pearl's voice was quiet and sharp. Steven felt a faint tickle on his face, the kind one feels when something is about to touch the skin, and Steven twitched a little. The van made another turn, and went over a pothole. That was odd- this wasn't the way to the car wash. Something nearby moved, and he heard the distinct sound of plastic on plastic snapping together.

Steven opened his eyes. Pearl was seated on the wheel well behind where his Dad would have been asleep. She rolled her eyes and returned to looking out the back windows. Steven knew her expressions, and presently she was lost in some thought that had more of her attention than anything out the windows.

He rolled to see what Amethyst was up to. He caught her averting her gaze in the same direction Pearl was looking. "Oh! Good morning, Steven! Sleep good?" she chirped. And now he knew shenanigans were afoot. Amethyst was sassy, she was gregarious and boisterous, sometimes moody, but she was never chirpy or perky. Unless she was up to something. He looked at her at length before answering.

"Yeah, I guess," he said. He wasn't feeling particularly rested. Something bothered him from the previous day's goings on, some important thing lingered just out of view, too timid to make itself known. He wished Connie were here. His mind was always clearer with her around. "What's going on?" he asked slowly.

Amethyst blushed. "Nothin'," she said, staring intently out the back. She sat on the wheel well opposite Pearl, propped up on her hands. Under one of them was an object, hidden from his view. The van made another turn, and he was beginning to recognize the sounds of the road here. There was a heavy fog on, so it was impossible to see the buildings and landmarks. They hit a bump, and Amethyst's hand rolled on the cylinder, dropping it onto the deck.

The side was labeled 'Indel Co. Intl.' followed by 'Indelible Chisel Tip Xtra-Wide, Black'. Amethyst leaned to get it, but Steven was faster. "Ha! Got it!" he said triumphantly, holding it away from her, as she began to pout. He realized what he was holding. "Were you _writing on me_!?" he gasped. Greg cast a glance over his shoulder as he drove.

"Amethyst, please don't vandalize my son. Remember what almost happened last time," he urged. Amethyst's pout intensified. "It's _art,_ not 'vandalism'. 'Sides, Pearl stopped me," she said, defeated. Pearl turned. "You weren't going to use that worn-out monacle and mustache again, were you?" she asked. Amethyst shook her head. "I was gonna go with that look from Beachapalooza."

Steven paused his outrage. That _was_ a good look, but in glitter and rouge, not in magic marker. They made a turn to the left and suddenly Steven knew where he was, where they were going. He looked at the time on his phone. "Dad, I don't think the Big Donut's gonna be open yet."

Greg nodded. "I know, but Sadie's usually there by now. Let's get some donuts for breakfast. I'll let everyone out at the Big Donut, and maybe we can give her a hand getting the store open. Then we can head down to the car wash and get that fired up. Sound good?" Steven nodded. He was strangely off-balance this morning. He wasn't particularly well-rested, and any amount of activity today might help him clear his head. Something was bugging him, and he needed to think.

Pearl mussed his hair affectionately. "You don't want the day off after the crazy night you had?" she asked. "A normal day in Beach City would be a day off after all that." A peaceful day in Beach City would be welcome. Even a regular day, filled with its usual bustle and disorder would be welcome.

The van rolled to a stop, and Steven could hear small waves' muted lapping at the sand. The heady ocean scent filled the air, and the sky was dark with the fog. A lazy gull waited on the building, watching them silently. The Gems hopped out of the van, and assembled on the beach. Garnet waved him over.

He hopped the curb and made his way to them, careful not to get jabbed by the prickly seed pods that grew in the sparse grass on the beach. "We'll be on a mission today, searching for a cursed scroll, so we'll be gone most of the day." She nodded to the store. "Once you're done in town, head back to the farm. I think it's important Topaz sees you when she wakes up." Steven nodded. Greg wandered over to join them. "Everything okay?"

"I'll need to get back to the farm once we're done at the car wash," said Steven. "I'll need to check on Topaz. And the Rubies," he added. "Absolutely, I agree. No problem." Greg looked back to the donut shop . There was a vague metallic thump. There was a jangle of more metal on metal, and shuffling.

"That would be Sadie. Let's go." Greg turned to the Gems. "Hey, you be careful, huh?" Garnet nodded. "You take care of Steven." Greg thumped him on the shoulder. "You bet." With that, the gems went down the beach in the direction of the obscured little house and the great statue it resided at the foot of, disappearing into the slate gray mist.

Greg and Steven found Sadie fighting the old lock on the heavy security door. A few years exposed to the Atlantic's salt sea air had doubtlessly caused some corrosion. Now she looked like she was using some sort of touch technique, picking the tumblers, rather than just giving the key a good twist.

"Hey, guys. We're not open yet," she said without really having to look, and sighed resignedly as she fiddled with the lock with the dedication and focus of someone whose life depended on getting it to work. "Actually, if you want some help, taking out the trash, getting the store ready, that kind of stuff, we'd be happy to help. We had a busy time yesterday, and kind of want to get it off our minds," Said Greg uncertainly. "Yeah, it was kinda scary," added Steven.

Sadie spun instantly and grabbed Steven by the shoulders. "You went to get your Mars friend, didn't you!" Steven was briefly stunned by her speed and enthusiasm. He was exhausted by the whole thing, and her energy for it was a small shock. "Er- yeah. She's at the barn right now," he told her, gaining his own momentum. Sadie squealed in a very un-Sadie-like way.

She then straightened herself and tugged her shirt smooth. She collected herself and returned to coaxing the door to unlock, clearing her throat. "So, um, whenever you're ready to talk about what happened, I'd like to hear about it. If you guys wanna help, I sure could use it." She looked over her shoulder and up the street as though expecting to see someone.

Greg leaned forward and squinted at the lock. "Hey, do ya want me to-" he began. Sadie covered the lock with her body defensively. "No, don't! I got it!" she yelped. "I have to do it, it's... funny," she said, and continued to fiddle. Greg stepped back. "I get it. There's a locker at the wash that's the same way." He moved to peer into the big window. "What's first, boss?" The lock finally gave in and crunched loudly as she turned the key.

"Well, I'm the only one who knows how to prep for the truck, and that's today. If one of you could take the garbage out, and someone could deck brush, that'd be fantastic. 'Someone' was suppose to do it two nights ago, but apparently something more pressing came up," she said and scowled down the street one last time before letting them in.

The store was very different with some of the lights out. The lights behind the counter were on, but the little dining room was only indirectly lit, and gave a strange, dull gray aura to the tables and chairs. The world outside through the tinted windows became deep night again, leaving only darkness and their own blurry reflections in the thick glass, making Steven feel when he had his back to the window that he was being watched.

"Okay, I gotta do the safe. If one of you can get the chairs down, and just scrub by the door and the refrigerator, and somebody can get the garbage, I'll start on fronting the merch and getting the walk-in ready for the truck. I'll get the bucket and brush ready." Steven began started to collect the bag from the big bin in front as his Dad got the chairs down. In the back they could hear the drum of water in a heavy polymer bucket as she sang to herself.

She rolled it noisily into the dining room and handed the long handle of the old brush to Greg and motioned for Steven to follow her. "Thanks for the help. Usually I just skip the cleaning tasks and set up for truck, and struggle during service hours to get things in shape." Greg shrugged. "Thank you for letting us help." Sadie gave him a nod, and led Steven out the back.

She opened the door after unlocking it and shoved forcefully. The sound the hinges gave told Steven that such force was necessary, but when the door moved only inches before it thumped heavily against something and bounced shut again, it was clear Sadie was surprised. Steven knew Beach City forward and back. There wasn't anything sitting behind the store normally that would stop the door like that.

They both blinked and looked at each other in mutual puzzlement. After a confused pause, Sadie picked up the longest electric torch Steven had ever seen and clicked it on. The amount of light it gave seemed excessive, but it was what there was available at that moment. Sadie cautiously shoved the door open again, this time without resistance besides the decaying hinges.

"Hello? Sorry-" she began, scanning about with the torch, "-about that," she finished, trailing off. Steven saw nothing. Sadie's voice was muted in the dense fog. Only the sound of the little waves on the calm ocean, or of shifting sand came back. "Lion?" he called. There was no answer. He looked at the pavement and the blown sand covering it. Catlike as he was, lion still weighed a lot. There were no footprints but his own and Sadie's.

There were some tire tracks, and two deep divots, one near the dumpster, and one over by the corner of the building, but nothing that indicated anyone was around to mess with the door. Sadie shrugged it off, and began unlocking the dumpster. Once the bag had been deposited and the lids locked again, Steven cast one last look around. Only a small stream of sand rolled down the hill beyond the dumpster onto the ground. Nothing else but the mild ocean stirred.

Inside, Greg had the chairs down already, and was mopping up the last bit in front of the door. Sadie looked impressed. "Wow, guys, thanks. This usually takes all morning." Greg shrugged. "I work at a car wash. I know moppin'," he said. The floor shuddered a little, and Sadie looked out the windows. There were no truck headlights visible. "I better get to work before the truck gets here. Greg, can you do the coffee? All the stuff is right there."

Soon the dining room smelled of coffee, and Sadie had the display freezers rolled forward. She swept behind them for a bit as Greg and Steven sat at a table in silence. "You sure talking about what happened wouldn't help?" she asked. Greg shrugged, and cast a querying look to Steven. Greg was right- it was up to him. He took a breath. Wasn't that what Garnet and Pearl were always telling him, that it was important to talk about stuff? They weren't infallible, but they were thousands of years old. That had to account for something.

"Yeah, I guess. Well, me and Dad and everybody went to Mars-" he began, telling her bit by bit how they had gone, and how they had found Golden Topaz. Sadie listened raptly, pausing occasionally as she worked. She soon discovered that all the work, minus truck-related tasks, was done, and sat with her helpers, and continued to listen. Steven went on to tell her about how he healed Topaz, and the sounds her gem made when he did.

He told her about the sudden appearance of the Rubies, and the battle between Topaz and Fusion Ruby, about how Ruby was so focused on vengeance they couldn't feel the corruption of the hammer working on her, and how Topaz flew into a rage on seeing a Ruby with the implement. He went up to the point where they found Navy and worked together to heal her.

"I thought you could just, I don't know, wipe your spit or tears on them, and they heal?" she asked. Steven shook his head. "Not with chips 'n stuff. Topaz could say it better, but there's limitations with gem magic. I could feel it. If we didn't all, uh, help, it might not have worked." Sadie blinked. "No wonder you need to get it off your chest. What a fight. I'm glad you're okay," she finished.

Greg nodded, and suddenly noticed the clock on the wall. "Oh, gosh! Hey, guys I gotta get the wash warmed up. Steven, here's the card, Get two dozen of whatever you want. You know what I want." Sadie raised an eyebrow at the mention of a card. With that, he popped out the front door into the dim gray. The sound of the van starting and driving off came and went, and was replaced by the heavy rumble in the floor of a much larger vehicle rolling up the rough side road.

"There's the truck," said Sadie, who stood and propped the front door open with the rubber stop. Soon Steven was watching with interest as the lady who drove the truck wheeled boxes of stuff in, and Sadie put the oldest things in front so they'd sell first. Eventually all the material had been delivered, and Sadie was officially ready to open shop. She wiped the counter down, got her apron in order, and leaned against the register.

"So, what's with the card? Usually Greg gives me loose change or old bills," she said. Steven fumbled for an answer. The story of his Dad's success was his Dad's to tell, and he'd recently been given the impression, especially after their trip to Empire City, that he'd been keeping a lower profile. "Well, he got paid for a song. You'd have to ask him, I don't know the whole story," he answered truthfully. Sadie shrugged, satisfied.

At that moment, Lars, looking still tired, wandered in. "Oh- hey, Steven. What's up?" Sadie eyed him intensely. "Greg and Steven helped me get the store ready," she said. Lars blushed. "I'll get the glazes warmed up." Sadie watched him as he disappeared into the back. When he was out of view, she sighed. "Shouldn't you be picking out your donuts?" she asked. "Oh, right." Steven did his best to get a good selection.

Once he'd finished paying, he saw Nanefua Pizza come out of the brightening fog. "Good morning, Steven!" He couldn't help himself; Nanefua's enthusiasm was always infectious. "Good morning!" he replied, making way for her. "Six plantain shells, two cake, two Boston crème, and two frosted with sprinkles please, Sadie. How are you?"

Sadie began collecting the different donuts. "I'm good. Steven and Greg helped me out this morning, so today aughta be a breeze. How're you?" Nanefua beamed. "I'm great! Today will be a glittering day," she said with confidence. Sadie and Steven both looked out the window. "What? Did you watch the weather report?" asked Sadie. Nanefua dug through her purse, and shook her head.

Steven pressed. "How can you tell if you can't see the sky?" She took her change from Sadie, and nodded to the gray outside the windows, and finished adding coins to a pocket inside her purse. "I can see the sky- it's down here. There probably won't any, or many clouds, because we've used them all up!" Steven blinked. It was one of those answers that sounded both wrong and right in the same moment, except that it was Nanefua giving it.

There were moments it seemed like she shared Garnet's power of foresight. She had a nearly preternatural ability to guess things without any clues. He wondered if humans had magic for a moment. "Steven- shouldn't you be getting over to the car wash?"

"Oh! Yeah," he said, and scooped up his bag. He turned to leave, but had to take a step back to let Mr. Smiley in. "Hey, Steven. Hungry today, huh," he said, gently closing the door behind him. "He just got back from a rescue, he's earned it," Sadie blurted, almost defensively. Nanefua and Harold Smiley turned to her. "A rescue?" they asked in unison. "Oh, yeah. He just rescued a gem from being buried alive and brought her back. Steven, you tell 'em!" said Sadie.

Steven re-told his story, more carefully this time. Through the re-telling, a weight, in tiny increments began to lift from his conscience. It was strange to have the rapt attention that he had now, and have it not based in some unfolding incident. It was especially weird to have Mr. Smiley's attention in this way, and not be in some kind of trouble.

He recalled how spooky it seemed to the other gems, answered questions about the layout of the complex, what things were made of and admitted he mostly didn't know. He told in detail how Peridot got stuck in the door, and how the battle between the Rubies and Topaz started. He stopped, and those gathered began to exchange confused looks. "Steven?" Topaz had lost her bearing and composure not when she saw the hammer, or Ruby Fusion with it; It had been when she saw him on the ground before her, deflecting the attacks.

She hadn't been set off by the hammer, but by the attacks against him. "She was protecting me," he said in shock. "Wait- I thought you said seeing Ruby with the hammer is what upset her, like, bad memories an' stuff," asked Sadie. "You're her friend, of course she was protecting you," said Nanefua. Steven felt heat in his cheeks and ears, ducked his head away from the others even as the big silly grin he was getting overpowered his better senses.

'Her friend'. There was some power in that phrase, and it had greater potency when it was spoken by someone he looked up to the way he did to Nanefua. It was flattering, but she was his friend, really. In what amounted to a few hours she had taught him to project his thoughts. And not to recklessly phase through rock. And how to handle old Gem technology. And some of the finer points of Gem healing. She had taught him what felt like an important thing about healing- what was the phrase? 'Informed Consent'? The silly grin faded almost the instant it came.

Informed consent. He'd rescued her into a world she didn't know, that he'd not described to her. One where the Diamond Authority was actively seeking to destroy his home, one where the Rubies had sought him out for vengeance. "The Rubies didn't even want her- they were after me. She had to fight them to save me-" The heat left his cheeks, replaced instead by cold and an acrid weight in his stomach. "I dragged her into this-"

Sadie was outraged. "That's not true at all! You just told me that the Rubies got to Mars on their own- They'd have found her, and she'd have been all, what, trapped in that energy-thing!" Nanefua had moved in front of him, and bent to meet his gaze. "All of us have to fight for those we care about one day. Topaz would have fought for you whether you wanted her to or not."

A large hand clasped his shoulder warmly. "Don't be so greedy. Nobody could own all the world's problems." Steven looked up at Mr. Smiley. "Not even you," said Harold, irony, and empathy in his eyes. It _was_ absurd. "If you keep blaming yourself for everything, pretty soon you'll start to believe it." Mr. Smiley was right. Nobody could be absolutely responsible for all the suffering in the galaxy. Not even just in the Solar system. Even without his misadventures and bad choices; the diamonds were coming; the fusion mutants were already here; the weird gem-magic things had been here for thousands of years; and if Eyeball could acknowledge it, he wasn't his Mother, and not responsible for her doings.

He'd just have to figure out a way onward without 'hoarding' the responsibility. That was a new one. 'Hoarding responsibility'- it was clearly something a person could do, and he'd almost done it. This seemed like one of the life lessons his Dad had told him to pay attention for. "Thanks!" he said, and returned Harold's smile. "It's just sometimes all of this is so overwhelming."

"Why don't you come with me, we'll take a walk on my way back to the amusement park. You can get some of this stuff that's bothering you off your chest." Steven just nodded. Mr.. Smiley got his selection, and bade Sadie and Nanefua a good day. Steven followed him through the door and waved as he left. "Thank you."

The fog was much lighter now, a gray swirl over the world. It made everything feel enclosed and contained. "I usually go up the hill around the old lighthouse and back. Good for cardio. Sound good?" Mr. Smiley added powder to his bottled water and waited. "Yeah, I can do that," said Steven. In the distance, what must have been a heavy truck made the ground shudder vaguely.

They began up the hill on the narrow path. Sand and crushed shells scraped and crunched like ceramic under their shoes as they walked. Mr. Smiley watched the ground as they walked. "Some vandal been digging holes in the park up here- watch your step," he said. As he did, he pointed at a divot in the ground, much like the two he'd seen behind the store.

"All along the path. Be careful." Mr. Smiley was right. Even if he couldn't see to the other ones, he knew where he was, and after they passed another mark in the soil, it seemed they were at some kind of even measure. "Maybe they're doing something to the park?" Harold grunted. "They better get a new surveyor." He turned to Steven and stopped.

"Sometimes you and I don't mesh so good, but I want you to know I will listen." He turned and went on walking. "So- it was you and the Crystal Gems on a rescue, and there was some kind of fight?" Steven trotted to his side and continued his storytelling. "Yeah. We were supposed to go and get her-"

"-'her'- who, again?" Harold asked. "Oh! Golden Topaz. But instead of rescuing her, she had to save us from Ruby Fusion." The fog was becoming thinner and thinner as they walked the incline in the direction of the point where the lighthouse stood. "And your Dad was okay with all this?"

"No, I'm pretty sure he wasn't. But it was something I had to do. She was stuck there for four-billion years, in that tiny room, waiting." Steven turned to Harold with his hands clenched. "I couldn't just leave her!" Harold nodded. "I get it. But you gotta understand what I'm hearin' on my end. 'Mars' and 'four-Billion years' and 'Steven's Dad let his son go on a dangerous rescue', okay? It's, well, unbelievable."

Steven relaxed, and looked at the ground. He hadn't thought of that. He had started viewing himself as an official member of the Crystal Gems, responsible for the safety of the people he lived among, and in the process forgot that to those same people, he was still a boy, who was as often as not seen playing on the beach, performing songs at concerts, and pranking his friends. It was only months ago he'd watched Sadie give Lars the fire-salts. "Oh."

"Sorry- I interrupted. Go on." Steven was becoming aware how much shorter his own legs were compared to Mr. Smiley's as they walked. "What do you want to know?" Smiley took a sip from his water mix. "How did you even know to look on Mars?" That was going to be difficult to explain. "I can do dream stuff. I can see people's dreams, and go to Mars. It has a name, um. Astral projection is what Pearl calls it." Mr. Smiley raised his eyebrows.

"Was that how you were doing all that future predicting stuff?" They had moved on another few paces, and there was another divot, in the dirt this time, strangely square, with the displaced material piled next to it. It was easier to see in the thinning cloud. Another one was visible another count of paces ahead, made the same way. "No, that was one of Garnet's powers. She can share it for a little bit when she wants to." Harold grunted.

They had reached the top of the hill, and could see the shadow of the lighthouse and its front door. Much of the fog had lifted, and the sun was pushing its warmth through it. "So, what's Golden Topaz like?" No one had asked that. Everyone so far had wanted to know about the course of events, to hear about the action. "She's a healer. Well, no, she's not just a healer. She's a teacher and leader-"

"A teacher? Do Crystal Gem people need teachers?" Mr. Smiley asked. Steven wasn't sure why he'd think Gems wouldn't need instruction. He certainly did, and would. "Yeah. Look at me! I need advice all the time." He had an idea and turned to face the tall structure. "Here, she taught me how to do this," he said, and after a moment of focusing, projected her image onto the flat white paint, many meters tall.

"That's her. This is one of the things she showed me how to do." Harold looked on in awe. "Cool! Wait," he said. "Her crystal looks funny." Steven changed the image to just her gem. "She's broken. They tried to shatter her, but her best friend jumped in front of her." The picture changed to his memory from a dream, of Fluorite and Topaz sitting together and gazing up at the stars and ships. "A part of Fluorite will always be with her."

"Is that how she ended up hurt?" Steven could only nod. He'd never _seen_ the events, but he'd heard the sounds. This wasn't the mental space he wanted to be in. "She also taught me how to connect with her mind," he said, and focused. Harold looked at him with a frown. There was nothing for a moment, then a vague, remote sense of boredom. That struck him as odd. Topaz didn't seem like one to accept boredom. Then it was gone. Mr. Smiley interrupted his focus.

"I gotta ask; what does your gut tell you about her? The Gem people can do weird things- there's the combining-"  
"Fusion," Steven corrected. "-fusion, and the weapons, and the water powers and all that. Do you think you can trust her?" he finished. "Yeah, I think so." Steven tried to imagine her trying to lie. The image his mind conjured made him laugh aloud. "I don't think she could lie if she wanted to. She doesn't want to hurt anyone," he said.

Mr. Smiley took in the projection for another moment, committing to memory these new people he was sure would be important to the young man. "Well, I still have a park to open. Let's go." Steven returned to Smiley's side as they walked, making the turn away from the lighthouse and back down the hill. Ahead of him was Rehoboth bay. Sloops and motorboats drew tiny white wakes over the reflection of the sky.

Mr. Smiley led the way at a brisk pace, in part because they were headed downhill. "Do you feel better after talkin' about it?" The path was smooth, water-worn shells and rounded stones. "Yeah, I guess. Thanks for listening." Steven picked his way down the path here. It was now steep enough boards had been laid in steps to slow the erosion of the bleached material from washing away. On his right was a plastic mesh fence to slow the wind, and it leaned under the weight of the sand that had built up on one side over the seasons.

"Well, I've asked all the questions I've got. Is there anything you just wanna get off your chest?" Below Steven could see the car wash. A few cars were lined up, and a tiny, long-haired figure was taking the order of the first in line. "I can't remember something. It's one of those ones where you know you know something, but you can't remember it," Steven explained. Harold nodded. "Yeah, I get those sometimes. My way of figuring those out is to see if I can remember where in the day it happened; early or late; big or small. I don't know if that'll help or not, but try it out. Everyone remembers things differently."

They followed the path around the rocky outcrop above the car wash and ended on the beach. Tiny waves lapped onto the sand interrupted by larger ones kicked up by the wakes. "I gotta go Steven, but if you need someone to listen- even if I don't always understand you, you know where to find me." Mr. Smiley waved, and Steven returned it. He watched as Harold power-walked up the beach in the direction of the amusement-park.

"Steven!" He snapped around at the sound of his name. "Gimme a hand, buddy!" He jogged up to his Dad, who began giving instructions. "Put the donuts in the office, then start taking down the license numbers and wash requests just like I showed you, so I can warm up the machinery." He moved at once, managing to stuff a donut down in a few bites, savoring what flavor he could as he collected the pen and carbon-paper from the ancient gray desk.

Out back he could hear the compressor belts squealing and machinery rumbling as his Dad scrambled to keep up with the demand. His own job was to get the name, order, tags, and signatures of the guests. The first in line seemed familiar. He was a younger man, with long hair in a tied arrangement, and quite muscular. "Good Morning! Welcome to 'It's a Wash'- would you like the 'bronze', 'silver', or 'gold' service?"

"Gold, please," answered the bodybuilder. Steven then recognized him as he circled the desired service on the ticket. This man had been one of his opponents in the ring during his stint in wrestling. "Print here; Sign here." The big man scrawled his name, then squinted at Steven. "Heeeyyyy, I know you! You're the Tiger Millionaire!" He blushed a little. "Well, I was."

"Yeah, I get it, man. Gotta pay the bills!" The man's wrestling name had been 'Car Crusher', and his tag team mate was 'Wrecker'. At 'It's a Wash' his name was Niles Dinkel. "I bag groceries at Garvin's. Real world, am I right? Hey- do I pay here?" Steven shook his head. "That's at the end, with Dad." Niles 'Car Crusher' Dinkel lit up. "Whoah! Greg is _your Dad_? No way! I go to his guitar lessons!" Steven blinked. "Er- Yeah!" Niles' car was ready.

Steven waved him through, and Mr. Dinkel eased forward and out of view. The next car eased forward and stopped on the marks. Steven took the tags, and asked the nervous looking young lady driving it what quality of wash she'd like. He knew she was a new driver- besides her body language, and the subcompact car, her license told him she'd only turned old enough to drive two months prior. He gave her the instructions, and motioned her through.

He looked at the receipts, the way they curled, the cheesy logo and font. They smelled of the copy carbon and mildew. Steven knew inside the tiny office there were stacks of boxes filled with them, probably thousands. He looked at the plate numbers. Each one in the First State was probably different, and it was possible to do it with just six digits. Some unfinished business in the corner of his brain stirred.

"Haayyy Steven! You still waking up?" Kiki's voice rang out. "Oh! Sorry, sorry. What can we do for you today?" he asked politely. Kiki was already in her Fish Stew Pizza uniform, and looked intensely bored. "Oh, just the bronze today, please. I have to hurry and get back. I have a timed delivery to take once I finish here." Steven frowned. "What's a 'timed delivery'- is it like some kind of race?" Kiki giggled.

"It's sort of like making reservations, but for delivery. Someone calls ahead, like this one did yesterday, and tells us what time they'd like the food to arrive. 'S kinda nice. They rout by themselves so they get there on time, and we know when to get stuff out fresh. It's just better, if you ask me." He nodded. "Oh, cool- well, here you go. Please pull through."

"Thanks!" There weren't any more cars for a moment. Steven hopped off of the stool and stretched. He'd been thinking about something before Kiki. He tried to focus, but it was gone. He poked the paper down over the little post, and waited. He listened to the new air mover, much quieter than the old one, touchlessly blasting the air off of Mr. Dinkel's vehicle.

A few more cars came through by and by. It was the most traffic Steven had seen in a while, though he did realize he was usually off with the Gems searching for corrupted Gems or weird artifacts. 'Gem stuff', his Dad called it, but it wasn't, not really. It involved his Dad, too. He shook his head as a horn honked when a car turned onto the driveway. He was being distracted by his thoughts.

A tiny brown sedan pulled up in front of him. The tags were odd, but he recorded them diligently. Then the window rolled down. "Ay, Steven!" Uncle Andy was much too large for such a tiny car. The logo wedged awkwardly onto the dash told him this was a rental as much as the way Andy was also wedged into the car. "Uncle Andy! I thought you'd be with your plane!" Andy laughed.

"Nah, I gotta change a filter an' r'place a couple a' cables. La Sorcière Volante won't fix 'erself." Steven frowned. "Wait- who?" Andy grinned with pride. "Name of the biplane, Steven. She got a whole history, buddy! Now, how's dis work?" Steven blinked. "Oh, er, gold's the best. It's like the Olympics." He began to notice the dense coating of mud and dirt on the car. "Better make it a 'gold'. Rental place 'd skin me if I brought it back like dis."

"Yeah, I bet! Go on through," said Steven with a smile. The little car went around the bend and disappeared. A moment later he heard laughter and conversation before the pressure washer kicked on. Andy made his way back to where Steven awaited whatever vehicle might be next. "Want some company?" Steven let Andy have the stool. He needed to stretch his legs in any case.

"How'd you get the car so muddy?" asked Steven. "Ya know, back in the day, there was a place not too far that had da kind a' parts we needed for the planes; La Sorcière Volante, the ol' tri-motor, an' that other one." Andy exhaled. "I guess it's gone. I had ta run all over, chasin' down numbers in the phone book, till I remembered a farm place about 40 minutes north a' here." Steven nodded, and reached both arms up as high as he could and stretched. "How come they closed?"

"Nobody operates old machines like that no more, not for everyday work. Even at da farm place, it was hard ta find a filter." Andy shook his head. "Eh. Sometimes things just get old. So, anyhow, I was drivin' all over the peninsula. Had ta use some back roads. Oh- here we go," he said as a few more cars began to come in. They went on like this for a while. When there was finally a pause, Greg came around from the mechanical room.

"Okay. Break time. Let's go get us some grub. Andy, c'mon, I'll buy." Greg switched off the neon lights and put the silly paper clock on the window. Andy nodded. "I gotta bring my car, though. I need to get dis gear out to the plane." Steven jumped excitedly. "Dad, is it okay if I ride with Uncle Andy?" Andy smiled. Greg shrugged and looked at his cousin.

"Yeah, I got just enough room." Steven dashed around the car he realized was actually a sad shade of bronze, and not beige at all, and jumped in. "You lead," Andy told Greg. The poor little car settled out when Andy squeezed himself in and started it. The trip from the wash to the car park near the restaurants was so short little conversation took place. As they drove, Steven looked in the back 'seat', and saw cables, the filter, and several other metallic objects he didn't understand.

They arrived and parked next to Greg's van, and collected on the boardwalk. Andy closed his eyes and happily inhaled the aromas of cheeses, tomato, meats, fried breads and potatoes, and donuts. There were almost no breezes carrying the ocean scents, so the smells of the kitchens were especially fragrant. "Oh, yeah!"

"What'r we feelin' like, guys?" asked Greg. Steven was about to burst out with 'fry bits' when Andy began to walk towards 'Fish Stew Pizza'. "I think I 'member what I used ta get when I was down here," he said, motioning the others to follow. They passed a few wandering vacationers on their way up to entrance. They went up to the counter and found Kofi sweeping the floor. Kofi looked up to see Steven.

"Steven! I bet you'd like to order," he said brightly, in his best customer service posture. Kofi was a pro, and his work was his life. "Hey, Greg! Would you three like to be seated, or will this be a carry-out?" he asked. "Oh- er, carry-out, please," said Andy. Kofi squinted, then lit up. "Andy DeMayo? Is that you?!" Andy stepped up between Greg and Steven, and received Kofi's vigorous handshake.

"Yep!" He clapped Kofi's shoulder. "You still got that seafood pizza?" Kofi rallied cheerfully. "I think I can conjure one up." He turned to the kitchen. "Jenny, I need a number eight stew special!" Steven could see hesitating movement from the depths of the galley. "A- what?" she replied. Kofi blinked. "You were little-" he remembered. "I'm sorry, Jenny. I will make it myself!"

Steven found Kofi's enthusiasm infectious. "I'll have one, too!" Kofi beamed. "What about you, Greg?" Steven's Dad smirked. "Yeah, I'll try it. Don't think I've had that one." Jenny stuck her head out of the kitchen to see what the excitement was. "Hi, Steven," she said brightly. He returned her greeting.

There was a flurry of activity in the kitchen, when Kofi returned to the counter. "Your order will be out in six minutes. Please, have a seat. Drinks?" Andy held up his hand. "Just water, please," he said. Greg and Steven followed suit. Jenny brought them their waters while Andy and Kofi spoke. Steven listened with rapt attention as they conversed, and learned about supply lines, about the stress of owning a business, and about the expense of roof repair.

Exotic and savory aromas began to waft from the kitchen; garlic, herbs, spices, and seafood made Steven's mouth start to water. Kofi brought the individual boxes out and set them on the little table. "Are you sure you don't want to order a side of breadsticks or a dessert?" he offered. "Not taday. If I fill up on pizza, I wouldn't get nothin' done."

Kofi snorted. "That's what good pizza does; it fills you up!" Andy nodded. "That it does." He sipped his water and watched a large blue pickup truck pulling a flatbed with a front-loader onto the beach. He squinted. Steven took another look himself. "Hey- is that Isaac? No kiddin'!" Andy stood and grabbed his hat. "Greg, can you carry the pizza? I wanna say hi while I'm in town."

Greg grinned broadly and nodded to Steven. "Go on, you guys, I got this," he said with a laugh. Steven followed his Uncle out the door. They made their way through the sparse crowd of beach-goers to where a man was working to unclasp the tie-downs over the tractor's big wheels. He was a little shorter than Andy, but was dressed much the same way. He wore a cap with "Tractor Place" emblazoned above the bill.

Crow's feet and leathery skin gave him a hard look, but the laugh lines on his cheeks told a different story, one of 'jollity'. His hands were certainly a worker's, as his callouses almost reminded Steven of Lion's pads, and the slaps he gave the huge ratchets to make them unlock almost sounded like metal on metal. His shoulders were broad and solid, and his chest was deep and matched the thick arms that filled his shirt's sleeves. He and Andy shared a lot of traits.

One thing they didn't share was skin tone. Where his Cousin was the color of the beach, Isaac was closer to the color of the cover of one of Connie's hardbound classic collector's edition books. He had light brown eyes which gave him an idle intensity, and short hair, cropped to a crew cut like Andy's. "Help yah?" he said in a northern accent.

Andy beamed. "Been a while, Isaac," he said with a familiar tone. Isaac looked at him for a moment before his eyes lit up. "Andy DeMayo!" he said and stood up straight. The two men embraced and clapped shoulders, a gesture Steven made a note of. "Still flyin'?" Isaac asked. Andy nodded. "Yeah! What's going on?" Isaac motioned up the beach toward the Visitor Center. "Vandals," he said simply.

Steven followed the indication. In the distance on the beach were a few clusters of onlookers, gawking at something on the ground. "So that's what the tractor's for. Is it yours?" Andy asked. "Carla's," replied Isaac, pointing to the driver's seat. Steven hadn't noticed the person working on the other side of the truck. Climbing into the seat on the tractor was a woman in a hardhat and reflective vest.

She could have been a quartz like Amethyst or Carnelian at Pink Diamond's zoo. Carla was compact and muscular, and her arms were toned and thick. The overall impression that she gave was of an athlete, rather than a laborer or combatant, however. Steven was unsure if it was the way she moved or something else that told him this. With practiced motor memory she adjusted the controls and put the key into the ignition. Then she cast a glare down at Isaac.

"Are you gonna jabberjaw or work?" she said with a distinct twang that described somewhere far to the south and west. Isaac grinned back up at her. "Well? Introduce me to your friends!" Isaac nodded, and gestured to Steven's cousin. "Andy Demayo, Carla Conley," he said in as many words as Steven had thus far heard him speak. Andy saluted then paused abruptly. "Carla _Conley-_ " he repeated. "Well, congratulations you two," he said in surprise.

"Oh, and this is my nephew- er, young cousin, Steven, Greg's boy. Say 'hi', Steven." Steven smiled broadly. "Hi!" One of his most favorite things in the world was to meet new people. Isaac simply nodded and held out his hand which he shook, and returned Steven's smile. Carla beamed. "You are cute as a button! I'm Carla. Now y'all stand back," she said with authority, and turned the big engine over. The diesel thundered to life, and the sound startled him. Isaac didn't seem to really care as he took a casual step back, but Andy seemed to bask in the sound, approval and contentment in the language of his posture.

Carla effortlessly maneuvered the big machine down the ramps, and began down the beach where Mayor Dewey was dispersing the crowd. "Back to work, I guess. Good to see you, Isaac!" Andy said. "Ahyeah. You too, Mr. Steven," Isaac replied, nodded approvingly, and began to un-hitch the trailer to follow Carla with the 4x4 and its big plow-blade.

Andy watched the truck with satisfaction. Steven looked on and wondered what things he would learn from Andy, and all the people he was bringing with him, like his great Uncles and Aunts and Isaac and Carla. "Let's get some sides at the Frymans' place," offered Andy.

"Three biggies, please," he said, placing his order with Peedee Fryman. Peedee stared at Steven in shock for a moment. Andy frowned. "You okay, kid?" Peedee snapped out of it and began filling Frenched potato into the fryer. "No fry bits today?" he finally asked. Andy turned. "Oh- sorry, uh- you got a thing you do here?" Steven shrugged his shoulders. "I'm good. I like fries, too. They're like 'mature' fry bits."

"I thought Dad was buying today," he said in a conspiratory tone. "Heh. Oops," snorted Andy unapolagetically as he paid Peedee. He led them to the smoothie shoppe, then they made their way through the small clusters of people enjoying the weather and found Kofi laughing with Greg just outside the store. Kofi eyed the fries.

"Pizza, fries, and smoothies, part of a balanced diet! A home-cooked Beach City original," Andy offered, and paused thoughtfully. "A day on the beach without it would be, I dunno, weird." Kofi laughed just as the phone rang, and dashed inside to answer. They waved, which Kofi and Jenny returned, then they had a seat at a table near the sand. The mild surf slapped at the wet sand, and drowned out the noise of the machines farther down the beach.

The ocean breeze had picked up, and blew gently inland now as the earth warmed in the sun's rays, and caused the sparse grasses close to the aging pavement to bend and weave. Steven looked down at the plants and shells and sand. A winding track made of a string of curves led along the sand and terminated in front of a crack in the concrete. "Snake," said his Dad through a mouthful of pizza as he sorted out what had Steven's attention. "Andy- this is good!"

Andy just raised his 24 oz smoothie in acknowledgment and sipped. "What kind of snake?" Steven blurted. Andy leaned over to see what they were looking at. "Huh. Around here? Garter?" asked Greg. "Maybe a corn snake. Hard to say just from tracks. But look there." Andy pointed. Where he was indicating, the longer grasses had been bent or pressed into the sand, and in the sand were long impressions, probably made when the sand was wet, as now it was hardened into a brittle crust in the sun. "Rabbits. I bet if ya come early enough in the morning, you'd see 'em," he said. Greg nodded. "Yep. I see 'em over by the car wash, too."

Steven was now scrutinizing the sand. There were gull prints, tiny sparrow and piper tracks, bird tracks he didn't know. There was another track, larger, with padded feet. "What's this one?" he asked. Greg looked. "Oh, that's probably Kit's tracks." Steven turned. "Who's Kit?"

"The fox who lives near the old lighthouse. There's a couple of 'em, but she's the boldest. The rangers have her and the other ones tagged. The city council gave them all protected status. She's probably the only one who'd come this far from the den." Steven tried to imagine Mayor Dewey doing something that was legitimately not wasteful or self-aggrandizing.

The breeze kicked for a moment, and the bags tipped over. Steven's quick reaction stopped the litter, the bags in one hand, and the receipts in the other. Andy nodded and grinned. "Good reflexes!" He got up and went to the waste bin to throw them away when the codes at the tops of the tickets caught his attention. It was an alphanumeric code, like the license plates, "05202014FSPZ008." Steven let the bags and cartons drop, but held the ticket and stared at it, transfixed.

"Steven! Steven!" Ronaldo rushed up to him. "Did you see the movie this morning?" Steven blinked. "What?" he said blankly, his thoughts shattered. "What movie?" Ronaldo shifted on his feet excitedly. "Someone was playing a movie on my lighthouse!" he exclaimed. "I think it was a romance. Did you see it?" Steven had to think very hard about that morning before he realized what the older boy was talking about.

"Oh! That was me. I was showing Mr. Smiley what happened on Mars." Ronaldo gasped. "Whoah," he said in awe. "So you can replay movies just from memory?" Ronaldo was onto another one of his tangents, and leaping to conclusions, as usual. "No, no, it was an actual memory, not a movie. It was Topaz and Fluorite, from when I got sucked into her dreams," explained. Ronaldo blinked.

"She's the one Sadie was talking about! Oh, wow!" He lost his exuberance, which was replaced by consternation. "But when she was telling the story, I couldn't picture where things were happening. You told Sadie she was some kind of expert, taking on a giant fusion, like Alexandrite? I don't understand how." Steven nodded. Ronaldo, despite whatever shortcomings he might have, was an astute listener.

"Well, the fight started in the center, where all the statues are. She saw Fusion Ruby with that hammer trying to shatter me," he began. Ronaldo held up his hand. "Wait- statues of what? I'm sorry, Steven, I'm trying to picture this. You're my friend, and I want to know what happened and how."

"Well, it's the center of sort of a star. All the points branch off from that main room and lead to things like classrooms, dorm rooms, storage, all kinds of stuff, but, well, I call it the- er, I feel silly now- The Hall of Titans." Ronaldo nodded. "Are they like, modern art, or busts, or people?"

"They're people, Gem people. Some are fusions, but her Diamond is there, too." Ronaldo took a step back. "Oh! I bet she's scary, like the other ones you saw!" Steven straightened. "No, not really. She doesn't seem scary. But neither did the murals in the outpost." Champagne wasn't scary. He remembered when Topaz had gone to 'atone' in front of her. It. He remembered how even her tone was when the statue wasn't malfunctioning. Later, when it had spoken its words, or rather, letters and numbers to him. 'RF8' it had said.

His eyes widened, and he looked down at the code on the receipt and stared at it. "Oh, my gosh!" The older boy peered at the paper. "What? What's wrong?" Steven dashed over to the table where his Dad and Cousin were discussing something. "She wasn't malfunctioning- she was asking about Topaz!" Greg turned from the ocean to see him. "Wha- who?" he mumbled, off-guard.

"The big statue of Champagne Diamond! It wasn't acting up, it was asking about Golden Topaz!" Andy and Greg exchanged a look. "But how?" they asked. "Steven! What's wrong? What's happening?" Ronaldo asked in a panic. "I think Real Champagne Diamond was trying to find Topaz! Dad, we have to get back to the farm!" Greg stood, but Andy held out his hand. "I got it, Greg. You still gotta do the car wash. I'll drive." He dug out the keys to the tiny little car. "Steven, let's go!"

"Thanks, Ronaldo! You helped me remember! Oh- and Mr. Smiley, I have to thank him, too!" He said as Andy led them off to the absurd sub-compact. They got in and his cousin managed to turn over the engine after three attempts. Steven suppressed his panic, but only barely. "I thought she was just shorting out again, but it was real! Facet GHZ23, Cut RF8, I should have known!"

"Hey, isn't that her, uh, I dunno, social security number o' somthin'?" Andy asked as he guided the car briskly through town. "No, it's her name." Andy glanced away from the road at him. "I thought her name is 'Golden Topaz'." Steven shook his head. "That's the kind of Gem she is. But her name is unique to her, kind of like a license plate or the code on that ticket." Andy nodded seriously. They were on the road out of town in short order.

Between Steven's worry, and Andy's focus on keeping the rubber side of the car 'down', the conversation stalled. Andy knew another way to the farm that seemed to go through the hillier parts of Del Marva, and they arrived at the farm in considerably less time than Steven was used to. It may also have been the speed Andy had coaxed out of the rental vehicle. They stopped near the spaceship, and Steven piled out and dashed past the Rubies, who seemed to be doing calisthenics around the fire pit.

He rushed into the open doors of the barn to find exactly the Gem he wanted. "Peridot!" he started. "Sshh!" she responded without turning around, and pointed toward the makeshift curtain that was still drawn closed. Andy finished parking the little car and took up a place behind Steven. "What's dis?" he asked.

Peridot was standing in front of a small Gem-tech console, above which were two floating images that revolved slowly. Steven recognized both of them. They revolved in the same direction. One was of Mars, as it was now. He recognized the strings of volcanic cones, the twisted canyons, the plains and mountains. Peridot would occasionally stop the model and use the console to place markers in some kind of notation.

The other model was of the Earth, had Pink Diamond successfully colonized and developed it. Spires, pits, kindergartens and tiny vehicles ringed and speckled it, making it look like a spherical sponge or pumice stone floating in an ocean surrounded by micro-organisms. Steven shuddered. "What are you doing?" Peridot placed another marker on the Mars model. "They never finished. Topaz said they were colonizing, but it doesn't seem like they got it done." For a moment, he began to wonder why Champagne Diamond didn't finish her colony, then remembered why he was here.

"Oh! Right- You said there was a transmission, and I think I know what it was." Peridot whirled around. "What!?" she snapped quietly. "How!?" Steven held up his hands to stem the barrage of questions. "Remember that big statue of Champagne Diamond- the animated one?" Peridot nodded. "It was probably to scale, Steven." Peridot was always precise. "It was an automaton. Like my robonoids." He nodded. "Could it be used like a radio?" Peridot blinked. "Radio?" Steven thought for a moment. "Like the wailing stone."

"Yes, why?" she asked. "I think Topaz's Diamond was trying to find her!" He blurted in excitement. Peridot's eyes went wide, and she took a step back. "What did she say?" she asked, as though the air had been crushed out of her. Steven winced. "Well, um, it was garbled and fuzzy, but the last part was 'RF8' like she was asking. Topaz is-"

"Facet GHZ23, Cut RF8," finished Peridot. Steven nodded vigorously. "I have to tell her!' he stage whispered. "Yes. I need to finish this," she said, her face gone from deep concentration to sheer anxiety. Steven wondered about Topaz's Diamond. Would she be like Blue; deeply emotional, harsh, and distant? Would she be like Yellow; fiery, fierce, and callous? Or something unique to her?

He stopped just outside the curtain with Andy. He reached for the old fabric and stopped. There was a tension underneath the quiet, an energy behind the curtain. A subtle vibration reached his feet through the floorboards of the barn. "Lion," he whispered, "it's me." Lion's silent, heavy footfalls told through the floor before the floorboards shook under his weight, likely as he lay down.

Steven moved the curtain aside. Lion opened one eye briefly and shut it again. Andy snorted, and Steven couldn't help himself smiling. Topaz lay on the now-crushed lawnchair under one of the big cat's forelimbs. He had her head nestled snugly under his chin. She was dreaming, and amber lights and lines played against her glass-fiber robes from her gem. In her deep sleep, she nestled into Lion's chest. It was a full and proper cuddle, and it felt like a crime to interrupt, but time was a factor.

"Topaz." Her dream changed colors and intensity, reds and golds, but she didn't seem to stir. "Topaz," he said again, with just a little more force. Her eyes cracked open just a hair, and she smiled. "The Steven," she murmured. "Are you real?" she mumbled. He remembered the first time he saw her. "Yes," he smiled back. She grinned and mumbled something before her eyes fluttered shut again.

Then they snapped wide open. Without moving, she looked at the massive paw on her shoulder and the furry chin above her head. "It's got me!" she said in a trembling voice. Steven sighed. "Yeah, he does that," he began, "Lion, let go." Lion batted an ear, and snuffed. "C'mon, Lion, just-" he grabbed lion's giant paw, and began to lift, and realized how heavy the mighty cat was.

Just as he was starting to use more force, the beast opened one eye, and raised his paw, casting Steven off-balance. He toppled over Topaz, and landed behind her, where Lion re-instituted his group hug. He nuzzled Steven, and began cleaning him. Steven could feel his hair being combed Lion's rough tongue which overran into Topaz's hair, causing it to stand on its own.

Andy couldn't stifle his laughter any longer. "Hang on, I, uh. Hang on," he said and disappeared. They could hear him as he worked. "Miss Peridot, could you gimme a hand with sumthin'? I got a issue over here." Objects moved, the floor thumped. "Okay, now let's tie dis onto it," said Andy. "Is this a meepmorp? How does it help?" asked Peridot, perplexed. "Heh. Watch," his cousin replied.

A piece of heavy hempen rope tied into a series of knots plopped onto the floor and began to move in tiny fits and starts. Lion's eyes opened instantly and he raised his head, tracking the fits and starts as the rope played. Then the rope gave a larger jump, and the big cat was on his feet, leaving Steven and Topaz in a tumble on the floor. "Now!" urged Andy. Steven turned to see Peridot and Andy push on another big tire with a grunt, which rolled out of the barn, drawing the rope that had been tied to it out the door, and with it Lion, who bounded and pounced after it.

"Thanks, Andy!" Andy clomped over to them and helped them both up. "Heh, no prob. Yous okay?" Topaz bowed. "Thank you, Andy." Steven dusted himself off. "Yeah, we're good." Andy began laughing again. "What?" asked Steven. "Nice hair," he laughed. He looked at Topaz, whose hair had been pulled into a tall sheet that tilted crazily one way. Topaz took a look at Steven and giggled.

Then she moved to one side, and seemed to draw a circle in the air with both of her hands, which left glowing streaks where her fingers had passed, defining the edges. She blew into the circle and the air shimmered, replaced with a mercury silver reflection of the room on its surface. "Oh, lines of force," she laughed. Steven saw his own silly reflections, with his hair drawn up in a sheet and ending in a curl at the end. "Ew, ew, lion spit," he said as he touched it. "I gotta get cleaned up."

Topaz absently touched the mirror, which dematerialized in the reverse order it had appeared. "Yes, let us be tidy." Steven led the way to the pool that had formed over the hole they had drilled weeks ago. Topaz hugged her shoulders and followed. Steven dunked his head, and scrubbed vigorously. She watched raptly as he splashed and washed. Steven was wringing the water from his hair when he noticed. "What?" She reached down, and dipped her hand, lifting and watching the drops.

"Liquid water," she said quietly, her eyes following the ripples. There she stayed, with her hand raised above the water, gazing downward for several seconds. "Are you okay?" She started. "I'm sorry. Liquid water. Does Lapiz Lazuli know you're using her water?" she asked. "That's the Earth's water," answered Lapiz from the balcony. Topaz stood up and began to curtsy. "No, no, please, stop. I'm not part of a court anymore. I'm not "Purity", I'm just Lapiz, please."

"Sorry. It's- strange to me." Steven looked up at her. "Your hair?" he asked simply. She took her robe off and dunked her head, scrubbing as he had until she was satisfied it was clean, and began the process of wringing out volumes of water. "It is fully day now, isn't it?" she asked as she wrung and squeezed in stages. She stopped mid-squeeze and looked directly at the sun, then scanned around for a moment. "The other must be at or near aphelion-" she mumbled. She gave her locks a final wring and stood.

"I don't think I'll be subject to fade any time soon," said Topaz, looking at the sparkling purple and blue covering Fluorite had given her to protect her from stellar light, and touched her gem absently. Then she stood straight and turned to Steven. "You have some urgent energy to you, Steven. Is there a question you'd like to ask?" He blinked. "Er- it's something I think you should know." He inhaled. For whatever reason, being the deliverer of important news always felt intimidating.

"That big statue in the center of the shrine tried to talk," he said in a tangle of words. Topaz curled her mouth a little. "You suspect it was not just malfunctioning?" she asked. Steven straightened himself and tried to look as serious as he could. "It fizzled a lot at first, but then it finished with 'RF8'- that's you!"

Topaz didn't move for a moment, frozen where she was but for her floating garments and drying hair. "It _said_ 'RF8'," she repeated. Steven could only nod. He'd only just started getting to understand her, and sometimes she was simply unreadable. "If she has asked for me, I must make my presence known," she said quietly. Topaz stared down into the water, at her reflection, looking it over. She held out her left hand, turning it as she looked, glanced back at the water briefly, and turned away from it. "Even as I am," she added, her shoulders bunched, back to her reflection.


End file.
